Three Strikes
by LoganAlpha30
Summary: Sequel to -Second Chances-.  Prequel to -You're Out-. Chapter 26 Up!
1. Default Chapter

**THREE STRIKES **

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 1-IT STARTS**

To say the mood at Wolfram and Hart was sour would have been an understatement.  Lindsey Doyle had returned to the fold but everyone in the building, save the representatives of the senior partners and a few independent contractors, were completely and totally terrified of him.  No one had yet to see him actually leave his office, let alone eat or drink anything, prompting rumors alluding that Lindsey was either no longer human or that the being in the head office formerly occupied by Lilah Morgan was not Lindsey Doyle at all, but some creature that just happened to look like him.  Of course no one in their right mind had dared ask him whether or not he was who he said he was, even though the employees of Wolfram and Hart worked night and day to bring about the apocalypse not a single one wanted to do anything that would jeopardize their standing with the company.  But unbeknownst to almost everyone in the building, and the outside world for that matter, in one of the myriad of false rooms that had been magically created inside the building a weary and bedridden man gasped out for someone to rescue him from the hell that he was being forced to endure.

*                 *                 *               *                *                 *               *              *           *

"Do they have to do that all the time," Fred mumbled angrily with a small hint of jealousy in her voice as she leaned over the book that she was reading and rested her chin in her upturned palm that was supported by her elbow on her knee.  

"Do what Fred," Lorne chimed in with a less than thrilled look on his face after Angel had forced him to help Fred and Gunn sift through one scroll after another that they had collected from their last job, a job in which the client had died shortly after and left all of his things to Angel and the others.  

"Well…that," Fred forced out with a combination embarrassed and forlorn frown on her face as with her chin she pointed across the lobby of the Hyperion where Faith and Wesley sat on the newly refurbished round couch.  

From his vantage point at first Lorne couldn't see what Fred was getting at, but after sliding over a little bit he thought he saw what she was getting so worked up about.  The former watcher and his slayer were seemingly sitting in their own little world, where only each other and a couple of books existed.  Faith had her left hand jammed firmly in Wesley's left back pocket of his jeans while her right hand was overtop of Wesley's left hand that was slowly skimming down the page of the book on his lap.  Wesley's right arm was draped around Faith drawing her close and Lorne had to admit that it warmed his heart to see two people who were obviously so much in love.  He had heard Angel tell story after story about how Faith had been before her stint in prison and how she was now acting when Wesley was around constantly kept him in awe of the change in her.  The old Faith, from what Lorne had gathered, would never have been caught dead doing what the new one was, however this new Faith seemed to have come to terms with the demons of her past and was now trying to reshape much of her image.  But when she was apart from Wesley Lorne and Angel had both been privy to the new Faith acting very much like the old Faith, however Angel had noticed that Faith didn't allow events to proceed as far as she used to and that whenever any guy went to far she would give him a friendly notice that if he wanted to keep his arm attached to his body that he wouldn't go any further.  More than once Angel had been forced to go to a poor mans aid that hadn't heeded Faith's warning.  

Being that he was an empathy demon Lorne didn't need to have either Wesley or Faith sing to know their feelings and futures.  The few times that either had sung since rejoining Angel Investigations a few weeks earlier had only reinforced the original readings that Lorne had done.  Lorne had been surprised to catch Angel staring at the new couple with a longing look on his face, as if telegraphing his want for a relationship of that nature.  In the beginning Angel had tried to split the two up as much as possible but after a couple of jobs he had given up the fight and now always sent the two out together, many a time being the two were all that was needed, with Faith providing the determination and the strength and Wesley the knowledge and wisdom.  

"Don't worry about it Fred, they're just in love," Lorne mumbled back with a sense of awe and happiness in his voice that Gunn, who had been silent up until that point, seemed to take opposition to.

"Still doesn't give them the right to act like we don't even exist and that we're inferior to them in someway," Gunn started to say with a fed up look of frustration on his face as he set the book down that he had been looking through and shook his head.  

"That's not how they're acting Charles…it's just that…well…you know," Fred stumbled out as she soon began to almost literally trip over her words.  

"Cut them some slack guys…sure they can be…annoying at times…but as long as they're happy and not hurting anyone I can live with it," Angel whispered loudly as he stepped out of the newly rebuilt office and joined the discussion. 

"But they're acting like children…," Gunn added with a solemn and slightly angry look on his face as he turned away from Wesley and Faith.  

"They've both been through hell…so what's so wrong with them finding a little bit of happiness huh," Lorne exclaimed with his usual jolly tone of voice and big smile spread across his face.  

"No one can be that happy," Fred stated dryly with a look of disbelief on her face as she slid over on the small couch that she was on so that Angel could sit down beside her.  

"You'd be surprised…but enough about them, anybody having any luck," Angel said with an almost nostalgic look on his face at first before it changed to one of boredom.  

"None whatsoever," Fred said with a frustrated frown on her face as she sighed and set the book that she was looking through on the small table in front of her before she rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes.

*                 *                   *                 *                 *                   *                  *                  *

Wesley and Faith had been fully aware that the others were staring at them the whole time.  Much of their public displays of affection had been purely for show.  Although that didn't mean that they wouldn't have done it otherwise the pair had begun making it a game between them to annoy the hell out of anyone and everyone, but always in good taste.  Wesley had come up with the idea of having Faith put her hand in his back pocket but Faith had certainly had no qualms about doing it

"You think they're freaking out yet," Faith said in a low voice as she couldn't contain a smile that spread across her face.

"Not yet…you know, I think that we've been looking at the same page for the past twenty minutes," Wesley said with a bemused tone to his voice before he stifled a chuckle and tossed a casual glance over at Faith. 

"I think you're right Wes…maybe we should stop studying and go look for some action, all work and no play makes Faith a dull girl," Faith started to say through a yawn before the yawn slipped into a smile as she gave Wesley a playful squeeze with her left hand and then pulled away from him and stood up.  

"You're never dull Faith…but I agree, researching tonight has gotten us nowhere, maybe a change of scenery would do us both good," Wesley said with a polite smile on his face as he shut the book that he had been half reading and laid it on the couch after standing up.  

"I think a change of scenery would do us all good…sorry but…vampire hearing and all," Angel said with a slight shrug of his shoulders as he stood up and approached Faith and Wesley.  

"You guys find anything," Faith asked with a hurried look on her face, as if she were itching to get out of the Hyperion and didn't like that she had to stop and talk to Angel.  

"Other than a to do list that I lost about a year ago no…," Lorne answered back with a sad frown on his face before he sighed deeply and stood up.  "Who's up for ice cream," he continued with a much more chipper look on his face, obviously trying to change the mood.  

"Ice cream…what's that," Connor asked with a confused look on his face that only grew when he noticed the odd looks on everyone else's faces.  

"You don't know what…oh yeah, I guess they didn't have any Dairy Queen's in Quartoth," Gunn started to say with a combination confused and shocked look on his face before he calmed down and shrugged his shoulders a bit.  

"Well then I'd say that it's about time that you found out what ice cream is, c'mon kid let's go," Lorne exclaimed loudly with a hint of excitement in his voice as he lightly clapped his hands together and took a step forward, straightening his suit as he did so.  For a moment Connor seemed unsure of what to do, so against his better judgment he turned and silently looked for help from Angel.  

"It's okay Connor, don't worry about it…Gunn, Fred, maybe you two should go with them to make sure that they don't kill each other," Angel said with a slightly unsure look on his face as he turned first to Connor and then to the couple who were still seated.  

"Sure…come on Charles…," Fred said softly and nervously as she grabbed Gunn by the arm and led him towards the door, followed somewhat closely by a reluctant Connor, who as he went looked back at Angel with a confused and unsure look on his face, and Lorne, who just looked happy to be doing anything other than researching.  

"I'd say that's our cue to leave, c'mon Wes," Faith said with a flash of excitement in her eyes as she laid a hand on Wesley's shoulder and the two started off towards the doors.  

"Not so fast guys…while the others are taking Connor out I thought that the three of us could get some real work done, hit a few demon bars…you know that kind of thing," Angel said with a nervous look on his face as Faith and Wesley slowly turned around and Faith mouthed to Wesley, "The three of us…."  

"But Angel, you usually work alone, why the sudden interest in working with us," Wesley asked with a slightly worried look on his face as he shoved his left hand into his jeans pocket, fishing around for his keys.  

"I just have a bad feeling about tonight, a feeling that we're going to run into something big and ugly, and I thought it best that if we were to run into something like that I have two of the people that I trust most in this world with me," Angel said with a very nervous look on his face as he pulled on his duster and fixed the collar.  

"Nice speech Angel…now what's the real reason that you want to go with us…what the rigors of being a dad getting to be to much for ya," Faith exclaimed with a playful smirk on her face and an energized glint in her eye as she nodded her head slightly and looked up at Angel.  

"Something like that…look we haven't really talked or worked together for awhile now…I'm just trying to relive some old times," Angel said as he started and stopped awkwardly in his explanation of his reasoning's.  

"Angel, the three of us…," Wesley started to say with a frustrated and unsure scowl on his face as he pulled his keys out of his pocket and threw Faith a hurried look.  

"Are the only three here that see the big picture…that know what's really going on out there, something big is happening…don't tell me that you two don't feel it…the others are clueless, except for Cordy, but she just knows that something's off," Angel exclaimed with a look of humble acknowledgment on his face as if he felt good to finally say his fears out loud.  Wesley and Faith took a few seconds to let Angel's words sink in before Wesley looked over at Faith, who sighed and shrugged her shoulders before nodding her head.

"You're right Angel, there is something big coming, Faith and I have felt it even back before the party, but neither one of us knew exactly what to make of it, but now with Lindsey…or whatever that thing was back to menace us…I think the problem is beginning to take shape," Wesley said slowly with an unhappy scowl on his face as Faith laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in solidarity.  

"I'm still not exactly sure what to do about it, researching has turned up absolutely nothing and so far none of my contacts have heard anything…which leads me to believe that either they truly don't know anything…or they're lying to me," Angel said with a frustrated scowl on his face as he walked back to the newly rebuilt weapons room, and took out two swords and an axe, before returning to Wesley and Faith and after keeping the longer sword for himself gave Faith the short sword and tossed Wesley the axe.

"What do you expect Angel…they're all demons…," Faith said jokingly as she quickly did a few practice swings with her sword before she nodded in approval.  

"Which is why I didn't kill any of them…yet," Angel replied with a slightly annoyed scowl on his face as he walked in between Faith and Wesley and headed for the door.  

"Why do I get the feeling that we're never going to be able to wear these clothes again after tonight…," Wesley said after sighing deeply and rolling his eyes as he turned around and started to follow after Angel.  

"Why do you say that," Angel asked with a slightly confused scowl on his face as he stopped in the doorway and turned around to face Wesley and Faith.  

"I think he means that pretty soon we're going to be up to our armpits in demon blood and guts…amongst other things," Faith said, slightly wrinkling her nose in disgust, as she looked back and forth between Wesley and Angel.  

"Well then, what are we waiting for…," Angel said with a fake smile on his face before he quickly turned back around and rushed out of the hotel.

"You know…I hate it when he's like this…it always ends badly," Wesley said with a frumpy frown on his face as he turned to Faith and tried to look upbeat and positive, but he failed horribly.  

"As long as it ends badly for the demons it's fine by me…you ready," Faith replied with an amused smirk on her face before she leaned up and planted a quick kiss on Wesley before looping her free arm around his waist.  

"Five by five…," Wesley said jokingly as he noticed the look of mock anger that Faith flashed him before he put his free hand on the back of Faith's head, pulled her close, and crushed his lips against hers.  The two kept kissing, and probably would have gone further, had Angel not gotten bored and come back into the hotel to see what was the holdup and interrupted them.

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The man didn't know how long he had been in this predicament, but he did know that it had been at least a few weeks.  He gauged the passing of time by the number of times the person that came in to treat him changed his bandages.  He didn't know the extent of his injuries as he had found that try as he might he found it extremely difficult to move even the slightest degree.  His first memories upon waking up had been of strangers in white coats working feverishly to try and repair his cuts and taking many samples of his blood and tissue.  He didn't know who these people were but he thought he noticed, during one of his more lucid moments, one of the men that had been the cause of his injuries, standing guard out in the hall.  After several weeks of rest he had finally been able to turn his head enough to look around the room, and upon doing so he noticed that he wasn't alone in the room.  A few feet from him there was another man in a bed similar to his.  This man however looked several years younger and far less of a warrior, a champion.  The man saw that the stranger looked to be no older than his early twenties, an observation that a few months earlier he would not have been able to make.  The other man in the room had long and dirty red hair and looked almost frail.  Thinking that was all there was to see the man readied to slip back into unconsciousness but he was interrupted as the door to the room burst open and several technicians rushed into the room, pushing someone on a bed in front of them.  The man waited until the technicians had hooked the new person up to several machines and then left the room before he opened his eyes and studied the new arrival.  Unlike the man on the other side of him this new arrival was a woman, and from the slightly dim light in the room he could see her beauty, along with the fact that she was nearly nude, save for only a few strategically placed sheets.  Pondering that matter the man looked down at himself and noticed that he was in almost the exact same predicament.  Wondering if something was wrong he quickly flipped his head back around and noticed that the other man in the room was in a very similar position.  The man was about to try and say something to either one of the other two people in the room but was interrupted by a weak and pitiful voice that echoed from the long red haired man, "Willow…help me…I need you."

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. One Hell Of A Night

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I create.**

**Author's Note:  Sorry about the Lindsey Doyle part everybody, I've seen so much about Doyle lately that I had Doyle on the brain; it'll be Lindsey McDonald from here on out and thank you to everyone for correcting me.  When I started watching Angel Lindsey was on his way out so I didn't get to see very many episodes with him in them.  As for the three people, they're all people we've seen before; one though isn't from Angel, and no one's back from the dead.**

**CHAPTER 2-ONE HELL OF A NIGHT**

They hit the demon bars with a vengeance, hoping to catch the right someone off guard or in the middle of something important.  Angel interrogating his contacts while Faith and Wesley filtered through the bar, trying to see if anyone got nervous at their presence, before they'd then meet up by the door to discuss their findings.  Throughout the night more than one demon had ended up with more than one broken finger, courtesy of Faith after she caught them ogling her.  Wesley was almost out of bullets after blowing off an ever increasing number of demon's heads and other body parts, mostly to get his point across to a demon that was being difficult.  All through the night Faith had been able to suppress her familiar urges, greatly thanks to Angel as he had on more than one occasion shaken her out of a lustful stupor.  The rest of the times Faith had been able to get out of it by herself, as a few vampires had made advances on Wesley.  By the end of the night Angel had come to the conclusion that come hell or high water Wesley and Faith would always be there for each other, and God help anyone that tried to get in between them.

"We've been out here all night and we still haven't found a thing," Angel grumbled with a frustrated look on his face as he, followed by Faith and Wesley, slipped out of the latest bar that they had combed through.  

"Maybe we're on the wrong track, going to bars I mean, maybe we should check out the less…respectable demons, like the one I clued you onto while you were searching for Cordelia," Wesley replied calmly before he kicked a puddle and splashed some muddy water onto Faith's pant leg.

"Hey…," Faith shouted in both shock and anger as she stopped suddenly and looked down at the muddy water on her leg.  

"Oops," Wesley mumbled softly as he tried to keep from laughing at the look on Faith's face.  Before he knew it Faith had spanned the short distance between them and grabbed him by the front of his coat, pulling him close with an angry glint in her eye.  For a split second Angel expected to have to get in between the two but then his fears were allayed.  

"Oops…I'll show you oops…," Faith growled angrily at first for a second before Angel realized that as Faith continued to growl he recognized the change in its meaning, and so he wasn't completely shocked when Faith pulled Wesley down to her level and stopped him speechless by first planting a light kiss on both cheeks and then capturing his lips with hers.  

"You two going to do this all night….the sun will be coming up in a couple of hours and I'd like to visit a couple of places before then," Angel asked with a bored frown on his face as he tried his best not to stare at Wesley and Faith, unlike a few passersby who began to stop and stare.  When they finally split apart, mostly to catch a breath, Faith and Wesley both noticed that they were being stared at and tried their best to hide their embarrassment.  

"We should probably get going," Wesley said after a few moments of trying not to make eye contact with either Faith or any of the pedestrians that had stopped and begun staring at them.  

"Yeah…got more work to do," Faith added with a slightly embarrassed look on her face that she tried to hide from Angel as she quickly made her way to Wesley's SUV.  

"I just hope Gunn and the others aren't getting into to much trouble without us," Angel said with a frustrated scowl on his face as he slipped into his seat behind Wesley and stared out of the window.  

"I have a bad feeling that pretty soon that'll be the least of our worries," Faith said with a slightly worried look on her face as she looked back over her shoulder at Angel while Wesley pulled out into the street and tore off towards the next bar.

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The day after the technicians had brought in the beautiful blonde woman the man found that moving wasn't as painful as it had been the day before.  He still hurt all over but the pain had been reduced to more of an annoyance then debilitating.  He waited until the technicians had left for the night before he fully sat up and looked around the room.  The beautiful blonde woman was still lying in the bed next to him and the red headed man had stopped moaning hours earlier and was now looking around the room with only his eyes.  From he could see the man noticed that neither one of the other two people in the room seemed to be that injured, although the red headed man did seem to have his fair share of small scars all over his body.  Risking being found out the man slowly swung his feet out over the edge of the bed and took a deep breath before sliding off of the bed, rejoicing silently when he discovered that his legs were still strong enough to hold his weight.  Reluctantly he cautiously made his way over to a desk that sat on the other side of the small room.  Sitting upon the desk he found a small basket that apparently had been filled with what he decided was odds and ends taken from himself and the other two people in the room as he saw a guitar pick and a police badge, both next to a picture of the woman that he still had strong feelings for, Cordelia Chase.

*                *                  *                *                   *                 *                *                    *

Gunn and Fred had taken Connor out for ice cream earlier in the night and afterwards the quartet had visited the pier and were all standing at the edge looking out over the ocean.  After some initial hesitation, and more than one headache, Connor had taken to ice cream like a fish to water, wanting to order as much of it as he could.  With a small amount of fear and trepidation in his voice Lorne had reminded Connor that it wasn't good to eat to much ice cream.  To that Connor had begun to say something in anger but Fred had quickly come up with the idea to go to the pier and relax for a bit before returning to the Hyperion and the tedious hours of research that were most likely ahead, broken up only by as much sleep as they could get.  Lorne had taken his shoes and socks off and had pulled up his pant legs before he slowly began to walk through the shallows while Connor walked along the beach, slinging rocks and shells alike back into the ocean when he came upon them.  Fred and Gunn sat down on one of the benches on the pier and just watched the two on the beach as they relaxed as best they could.  

"What do you think they're doing…my fa…Angel and…," Connor asked solemnly as he leaned down and picked up a small cream colored shell before hurtling it back into the ocean.  

"I don't know kid…but knowing those three they'll probably hit every bar in the city before they give up…then they'll be back at it the next night…there's something special about those three," Lorne said with an unhappy frown on his face as he waded back out of the shallows and onto the beach as he let his pant legs down. 

"They're special and I'm not…is that it," Connor replied with a subdued look of anger in his gaze before Lorne swallowed hard before responding.

"Oh no kiddo…you're special alright…but just in a different way, you have a destiny of your own…separate from theirs, that's all," Lorne said with a hopeful smile on his face that quickly turned to a frown because of the confused and not to excited look that he was getting from Connor.

"Separate, what's that supposed to mean…stop speaking in riddles," Connor exclaimed angrily as he picked up another shell and used all of his strength to hurl it back out into the ocean.  

"Sorry…force of habit…," Lorne said while shrugging his shoulders in slight embarrassment before he continued.  "I'm still not exactly sure what your destiny is…apart from Angelcakes', all I can tell you is that you're a champion to…you just need to find something to be a champion for…like Angel is the champion here, in Los Angeles…the city of angels," he said with a serious look on his face and tone to his voice as he set his shoes and socks down beside the beginnings of a sidewalk that led away from the beach.  

"Then what about Wesley…and Faith…what's their destiny," Connor said with a confused scowl on his face as he sat down on the first step of the stairs that led up to a lifeguards chair.  

"Well those two…they've already begun living their destiny, but they've got a long way to go before they're done…and it's quite possible that sooner or later they'll be bidding this town a fond farewell, possibly never to return," Lorne said back with at first an excited and happy smile on his face that quickly changed to a sad one, prompting Connor's next question.  

"You mean they're leaving…for good," Connor said with what looked like a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"It's a good possibility…that their destiny lies elsewhere, just as Angel's destiny most likely will keep him away from Buffy and Sunnydale…," Lorne said with a sad tone to his voice as he squished some sand between his light green toes.

"What about Cordelia…what," Connor said with a fearful look on his face as he stood up and turned to completely face Lorne.  

"I don't have the vaguest idea what her destiny is…it keeps changing…it's like Anne Heche on vacation in the Hamptons," Lorne said with at first a sadly confused look on his face before it changed to a humorous one.

"Then what the hell are you good for," Connor exclaimed angrily as he stood up and stormed off down the beach back towards the pier, leaving an extremely shocked Lorne to try and stumble through some sort of response that never seemed to congeal.  

*                     *                 *                   *                   *                   *                *              *

What they had determined to be the last bar of the night that they would visit turned up no new clues.  Angel had hours earlier abandoned much hope of getting anything out of his contacts, but Wesley and Faith had persuaded him to try them all.  Much to Angel's chagrin he discovered that by the end of the night both Wesley and Faith seemed to have consumed enough alcohol to make them, if they got pulled over, legally drunk.  He hadn't remembered them drinking too much at first but then he had remembered that the two had consumed a little alcohol at each bar, slowly building the amount in their system until it began to show.  And after silently cursing his enhanced sense of smell Angel had to almost physically force Wesley to park the SUV and then do the rest of the search on foot.  Even though it was nearing sunrise Angel thought it best that neither Faith nor Wesley was behind the wheel in their condition.  But Angel was thankful for one small thing; neither Faith nor Wesley really seemed to be showing their level of intoxication.  Hoping to make something out of the night Angel slowly guided the trio through a few back alleys before then prying open a manhole and slipping silently into the sewers, with only a small complaint from Faith about the smell.  

"Remind me again why we're down here…in this…instead of back in that last bar enjoying…ourselves," Faith started to say with a disgusted look on her face before she started to feel the affects of the alcohol running through her system.  

"We're down here…looking for something that…might not even be here," Wesley slurred through with a very bored look on his face before he dropped his axe and had to stop and fish around for a bit in the murky water before he found it, much to Faith's delight as she couldn't stop a fit of giggles.  

"Great…guess all the alcohol that you two have been slamming down all night finally caught up to you," Angel said with a very sarcastic scowl on his face as he shook his head before turning around and faced away from Wesley and Faith.  

"It had to happen sometime…guess this means that you're the designated driver," Wesley said with an amused smile on his face as he steadied his axe and slipped past Angel before disappearing around a corner.  

"Wonderful…just what we needed to make this night a total bust," Angel muttered angrily as he trudged off after Wesley, leaving Faith to stare off after him in silence before running to keep up.  

"Don't worry Angel, we'll find something down here…if it doesn't find us first and rip us to shreds," Faith exclaimed with an excited smile on her face as Angel could see the fight wheels begin to turn in her head.  

"Thanks for the visual Faith…," Angel replied with an emotionless look on his face as he continued to trudge through the sewers, keeping his enhanced senses attuned to his surroundings.  

"Anytime Angel…you know…," Faith started to say with an amused smirk on her face before a low moaning sound caught her attention.  Ahead of them Wesley kept walking on for a few more feet before he stopped and began to slowly lean from side to side, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.  

"What's that," Wesley asked with a confused and concerned look on his face as he turned around readied his axe.  Angel squinted his eyes a bit and crouched down, trying to discern the sound above the low din of the trickling stream that flowed through the sewer.  

"I'm not sure…but I smell blood, lots of it," Angel said as calmly as he could while he stood back up before he flipped his sword up in front of him in a defensive stance.  Beside him Faith repeated the action as she took a few steps back the way that they had come to check for anything.  

"Is it fresh…the blood," Faith asked with a growing look of concern on her face as she tilted her head up a bit and caught Wesley looking at her with the same look on his face.  

"Very…and it's close," Angel said softly as the moaning became louder and Faith, thanks to her slayer senses, suddenly became aware of another foul stench wafting through the air.  

"Ew…what the fuck is that…," Faith asked wrinkling her nose to try and keep out the offensive odor as best she could while she shook her head in slight disgust.  

"Bloody hell…," Wesley replied with a shocked and very upset frown on his face as Angel noticed that the former watcher suddenly seemed instantly prepared for battle.

"Not the best time to use the accent Wes…I need to know what's coming…and now thanks to you all that I can think about is…," Faith started to say with a sarcastic look on her face as she turned around and started to slowly back towards Angel and Wesley.

"Not now Faith…wait…I know that smell to…," Angel exclaimed harshly before he glanced over at Wesley and mouthed a single word, an action to which Wesley only nodded his head in silent agreement.  From her vantage point Faith could only see Wesley shaking his head with a look on his face that Faith hated to see because it meant that trouble was coming.  It was the kind of trouble that was the stuff of nightmares and horror movies, the kind that Faith hated to be involved with more than anything else.  

"What's going on…you two know what's coming don't you," Faith asked with a strong hint of anger in her voice as she hated to be left out of anything.

"Yes…we do, the fresh blood…the moaning…the smell of dead flesh, it can only mean one thing…zombies," Wesley replied with a dead look on his face as he kept slowly looking down ever sewer tunnel that led away from their position.

"Zombies…you mean like the brain-dead flesh eating kind," Faith asked suddenly not so sure that she wanted to be there.  Vampires and the average demon were one thing, but ever since she was a little girl Faith had always been slightly scared of zombies.  It wasn't that she was scared silly by them, but just the thought of them gave her goose bumps.  The fear sprouted from an incident in her childhood that she had never told anyone else about.  She had been out with some friends going from house to house getting candy on Halloween when what she thought was a man in a costume stepped out of the shadows and growled.  She remembered how the rest of her friends first shrieked in fear and then started laughing as the person in front of them seem to be startled and began staggering back into the shadows.  But somehow Faith had a sinking feeling in her stomach that something was wrong, and only seconds after the man slunk back into the shadows she remembered that she had recognized the man.  The realization brought had brought tears to her eyes and audible gasps as she tried to cry out in alarm, because the man that she had recognized the person in front of them as was her grandfather.  A man that had been dead for a good five years, and had been buried in the local cemetery next to her grandmother, as Faith had remembered getting out of school that day to go to the funeral.

"Exactly…and from the sound of it more than one…," Wesley said with a very serious scowl on his face before suddenly the moaning became very loud, shocking the trio out of their initial stupor.  

"I'm thinking a lot more that one Wes…I'm hearing it from all around us now…," Angel added with a very dark look on his face as he joined Faith and Wesley in peering through the predawn darkness of the sewer tunnels.

"You mean…," Faith started to say with a very grim look on her face before a sound behind her made her spin around with her sword in front of her, completely ready for battle.

"That we're completely surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered," Wesley answered with a very grim look on his face that was tinged with a rapidly growing amount of true fear.  It was a look that made Faith's blood run cold as she glanced back over her shoulder at him at his words.

"Here they come," Angel shouted in alarm as from every tunnel that the trio could see bloodied and mindless zombies limped towards them with murderous intent.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. From Bad To Worse

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the new ones that I create.**

**CHAPTER 3-FROM BAD TO WORSE**

The horrific images screamed into her dreams, forever shattering the peace and tranquility that she had been enjoying only moments before.  Where once there were images of everyone, from Gunn and Fred to Wesley and Faith, getting along very well while watching a drive in movie.  Gunn was trying to explain parts of the movie to Fred while Wesley and Faith were inching closer and closer to each other, their intent readily available.  Connor sat in the front seat with a full bucket of popcorn that he kept closely guarded less Lorne, who was seated beside him in the front seat; steal away a few freshly buttered kernels.  Cordelia was having the best time of all, warmly wrapped up in the arms of the man slash vampire that she loved.  Everything was perfect.  But all that changed in an instant.  The movie on the screen disappeared and in its place were bloody images of Wesley and Faith being ripped apart, their flesh torn from their bones, complete with the sickening sounds of their necks being broken.  The next images that flashed across the screen were of Angel being besieged by an army of zombies, much like the ones that had just killed Wesley and Faith.  Cordelia watched breathlessly as Angel cut down first one and then another, but the horde simply stepped over their fallen comrades and kept staggering towards him.  

The sheer force and clarity of the dream was the main cause in Cordelia suddenly jerking awake by sitting straight up in bed, despite the pain.  Even though she hadn't broken anything when Lilah had attacked the Hyperion it was readily apparent that she would be sore for a long time to come.  Connor's makeshift stretcher had worked to near perfection.  Now though with Cordelia confined to a bed most of the day she had begun sleeping a lot, and then it was that the dreams had started coming.  But for some reason the dream this night seemed almost like she was there, watching it live as it happened.  After bolting straight up in bed Cordelia fumbled around on her nightstand for the cellular phone that Angel had gotten for her for her birthday one year.  When she finally got the phone to work she first dialed Angel's number.  But her fears were only intensified as she discovered that she could not reach him and that the sun was just starting to peek above the horizon.  Frantically she sent out a shot in the dark and dialed up a number that in truth she wasn't exactly sure was correct.  

*               *               *                 *                 *                 *                *                   *

He studied the picture of his lady love, his princess, for what seemed like forever before he put the picture back into the basket and turned back around to face towards the other two in the room.  The nearly nude blonde woman had partially woken up and it was readily apparent that she had been doped up on something.  Her actions, what little there were, were very sluggish.  She didn't seem to have any grasp of the situation that she was in but she knew that wherever she was she didn't like it.  Sensing that he couldn't help the woman at the moment the man instead made his way over to the red haired man.  When he got there the man found out that the smaller man looked more to be in a daze than sick or drugged.  This small bit of knowledge greatly infused the man with hope before the entire world went black again as he felt a dart, no doubt tipped with an extremely fast acting sedative slammed into the back of his neck.  He collapsed to the floor, but not before hitting his head on the way down.

*                    *                  *                 *                  *               *                 *                     *

The small room in the interior of Wolfram and Hart that he had been placed in was devoid of any decoration.  He had been deprived of most of the necessities of life.  He was so weak that he could not escape on his own even if he wanted to.  It wasn't that he didn't hope to one day escape but he knew that in his condition he had no chance.  He knew that his only way out was to try and convince one of the young women that came in to check on him every few days could be persuaded somehow to get a message to Angel.  The only good part about the secret room, a fact that had he been conscious more often would have given him at least some small amount of pleasure out of his current predicament was that every time one of the young women came in to tend to him she had to do it completely naked.  One day he had feigned to be asleep so that when two of them came in, one apparently new, he had overhead the more experienced caretaker say that the exact spell that had been cast was one so that it had a dual purpose.  One of it's purposes was to keep him in a type of suspended animation, except allow him to be conscious so as his captors could gain vital information whenever they needed it.  The other reason was purely security, no weapons of any kind were allowed in the room and the wording of the spell was such that any person that entered the room with any kind of clothing on would be killed on the spot.  That reason was so that no one could hide anything like spell components or a hidden weapon under their clothes.  He found that the spell that was holding him in almost suspended animation would every so often enact the normal functions of his body so that he wouldn't have to leave the room.  The process was completely painless and the only way he knew that anything was happening was that the color of the walls would change momentarily before returning to normal.  The thought of his captivity in this strange room and everything that went with it sickened him.  But in his current state he could do little to change his situation.  He summoned up what little strength he had been able to pool together and waited for the next visit to try and put his plan of escape into action.

*                *                   *                 *              *                *                 *                      *

"Thanks Angel, this is just what I wanted…to be ripped apart by a bunch of rotten ass zombies…," Faith growled angrily as she stepped around, making sure to not let any one group of zombies get closer than any other.  

"We're not dead yet Faith," Angel said with an angry scowl on his face as he was trying to instill courage and hope in Faith but from Wesley's words he knew that he had failed miserably.  

"Well in truth you're already dead Angel…vampire remember," Wesley started to say with a small hint of fear in his voice before he leapt forward and swung his axe in a planned arc.  Before Angel or Faith could react Wesley leapt back as the nearest zombie's head flopped off of its body and rolled away as the body crashed to the ground.

"Thank you Wesley…that's very helpful…but how many are there," Angel asked as he furiously tried to rack his brain to try and figure out a way that the trio could get out of this encounter alive.  Unfortunately every scenario that he had hurriedly come up with ended up with only him making it out.

"Does it matter," Faith shouted back with a look of a little fear on her face as she feigned left and then went right, swinging her sword and decapitating a couple of zombies that had gotten to close for comfort.  

"Guess not," Angel said with a sigh and shrug of his shoulders before he charged into the nearest train of zombies and hit them hacking and slashing with everything he had.  At first he tore into the group, killing most of them in his path.  But as he kept churning through the column he soon discovered to his amazement and horror the column seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see.

"This isn't working…there's too many of them," Wesley exclaimed angrily as he had to wrench his arms and then axe out of the grasp of a trio of encroaching zombies.  Even though they tried to keep it form happening Wesley, Faith, and Angel soon found themselves becoming separated by the sea of zombies.  Wesley was having some luck with his axe but he soon began to run out of room to swing the axe as the zombies that attacked him began to back him into a corner, literally.  Angel was having a better time of it than Wesley, thanks in large parts to his being a vampire.  Angel found it easy to kill the zombies; however it seemed that for every one that he killed two more filled its place.  Faith was having an even harder time of it then Wesley.  Her slayer powers, although giving her the strength to go on and stay standing, in the end were negated by her lack of height.  Most, if not all, of the zombies were easily taller than Faith and at times Faith would get her sword stuck in a zombie's neck as she tried to lop it off. 

"Wesley…Faith, hold on," Angel shouted more out of an effort to bolster the trio's sagging spirits than to actually help them as a scream of pain ripped through the tunnels.

"Faith…," Wesley howled in rage and pain as out of the corner of his eye he saw Faith scream as the zombies closed in on her and after knocking her sword away and then a particularly nasty looking zombie take advantage of the situation and sink its teeth into Faith, right at about where her neck met her right shoulder.  From that moment on the logical sections of Wesley's brain ceased to function.  With the strength and determination of a wild man Wesley began to hack and slash at everything that moved as he feverishly tried to make his way to Faith, who was quickly disappearing underneath a sea of zombies.

"No…," Angel shouted in shock and worry as he saw the latter part of what Wesley had seen and instantly went to the aid of his friends.  

Wesley had begun to make his way towards Faith, whom he could still see parts of as she flailed helplessly for her life under the crushing weight of the zombies that seemed endless.  He was almost upon her when he tripped over the downed body of a zombie and fell to the floor hard, splitting his chin open in the process.  He tried to get back to his feet but Wesley soon found it impossible to move very far and was about to try with all of his might when he felt the sharp teeth of a zombie first dig into his upper left thigh and then into his right side.  With howls of pain Wesley still struggled against it all, no longer caring if he lived or died, only caring that he could save Faith.  He was able to stretch his right hand out and his fingertips briefly brushed pasts Faith's fingertips as the two lovers tried desperately to reconnect to help each other.  But soon the wave of zombies pulled the two apart and the last look that they shared before their vision was blocked was of complete fear and love in each others eyes.

Seeing first Faith and then Wesley go down under the sea of zombies Angel knew that the chances of them winning this battle were going up in smoke.  No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep the advancing army of zombies off of him, collecting more than one ghastly bite mark.  Through the din of the battle Angel's enhanced hearing was useless, as he couldn't distinguish between the sounds that the zombies were making and those if any, that Wesley and Faith were making.  In his soul he knew that he couldn't lose two of his best friends both in the same night, and not like this.  Giving up all hope of winning the battle as simply human, Angel slipped into his game face and charged the zombies holding Wesley and Faith.  His intent was to either save them both or die trying, because he knew that if he could only rescue one then the survivor would be as good as dead for the loss of the other.

*                   *                   *                   *                 *              *             *                     *

The man awoke to find himself, the more than half naked woman, and the red haired man all lying in a padded cell with only one small window to the world on the door that was almost impossible to detect.  He still didn't know who either of the two people were but he swore outright that he wouldn't leave this place without them, no matter what it cost him.  He was relieved to see that none of the three were restrained in any way and they all seemed to be more or less alright.  He didn't know how long he had been out but he guessed that it had been some time as the wounds that he had noticed on himself and the other two were completely gone, not even a bruise remained.  

"Nnh…where am I…who are you," the blonde woman asked slowly, as she was lying on her side with her head pointed away from the door, as she started to pick her head up off of the floor and look around.

"Do not worry, I will not hurt you," the man replied as he cautiously made his way toward the woman, hands outstretched in front of him, palms up.  

"Yeah right, that's what they all say…keep your distance or I'm warning you I'll…," the woman said with an angry scowl on her face that the man could tell hid more than a fair amount of fear.

"You'll what…run away…sorry but it looks like we're all stuck in here, whether we like it or not," the red haired man said as he pushed himself up off of the floor before yawning.  

"We need to stay calm…but what exactly is this place, I have seen nothing like it before," the man asked with a confused look on his face as he focused his attention on the padded walls.

"You're joking right…," the woman replied angrily at first before she looked down and noticed just how much she was showing and instantly clammed up as she covered up what the small bits of clothing that she was wearing weren't.  

"No…where I am from there is nothing like this…," the man replied with a small look of awe on his face before he proceeded to pat the padded walls, as if looking for a way out.  

"Where are you from…the moon," the woman asked with a mocking tone to her voice as he pulled herself up into a seated position against the wall.  Until she knew more about the two men in the room with her she wanted to keep them both where she could see them and keep as much distance between them as she could.  

"No…Pylea," the man replied with a small amount of nostalgia in his tone as he sat down and regarded the confused looks that other two people in the room were giving him.

*                *                *             *                *               *              *               *             *

After the end of their not so nice discussion Lorne and Connor had both reluctantly returned to the pier and sat down on opposite benches.  Gunn sat beside Fred with his arms around her and a calm but happy look on his face.  The pair barely noticed when Lorne and Connor had returned.  The first one to notice was Fred, but all her reaction was to send a warm smile Connor's way, one that he most definitely did not return.  Fred was about to ask him why when her cell phone rang.  Reluctantly she untangled herself from Gunn's arms and sat up straight as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and turned it on.  

"Hello…Cordelia what…wait you're talking to fast calm down…you have to slow down," Fred stuttered out awkwardly as she answered the phone and then tried to calm down an obviously frantic Cordelia on the other end.  

"What's wrong…is Cordelia okay," Connor asked suddenly as he almost jumped to his feet with an extremely concerned look on his face.  

"I'm sure she's find kiddo…she's probably just calling so that we'll pick something up for her on the way back to the Hyperion," Lorne replied with a bored frown on his face as he looked out toward the ocean and reveled in the soft wind that blew against his face.  

"I didn't ask you," Connor said angrily as he stood up and took a few steps towards Fred and Gunn.

"Easy Connor…," Gunn said firmly as he held a hand up in front of him as if he expected Connor to take the phone from Fred.

"Okay Cordy…don't worry…where did you say…the corner of eighth and Franklin…they're what…zombies…oh no…okay we're on it…we'll hurry…bye," Fred stammered out nervously as the look on her face steadily went from bad to worse and then to almost petrified before she hung up the phone and swallowed hard.  

"What is it, what's wrong with Cordy," Connor angrily demanded as he brushed Gunn's hand away and looked ready to strangle Fred or explode if he didn't get an answer.  

"She's fine Connor…she just had a dream, a nightmare really, she said that it was a vision from the powers…that Angel, Wesley, and Faith are in deep trouble and will die…tonight, if we don't save them," Fred replied nervously as she slipped her cell phone back into her pocket and edged away from Connor.  

"Well then pumpkin…what are we sitting around her for, let's vamoose," Lorne exclaimed with a sudden burst of bravado as he jumped to his feet and clapped his hands together.  

"I agree…let's go," Gunn said very authoritatively as he stood up and pulled Fred up with him before he pulled her quickly towards the car as Lorne scurried past them and Connor followed.  After everyone climbed into the car Gunn fired the engine and tore off away from the pier.

"Do you know where you're going," Connor asked with a very apprehensive scowl on his face as he watched the buildings go by.  

"Eight and Franklin…yeah I know where that is…not the nicest part of town though, don't know why the hell they went down there…," Gunn answered with such a worried look on his face that it sent shivers through Fred's body as she hoped against hope that they'd be in time.  

"What good are we going to be against the zombies without weapons," Connor said with a look of annoyance on his face as he looked away from Lorne.

"Angel always kept some weapons in the trunk, he never wanted to be anywhere without at least some type of weapon at his disposal, but I'm not sure how much we'll be able to do…if those things can take out Angel, Wes, and Faith then…," Gunn replied with a growing look of concern on his face before he shook his head and pressed the accelerator down even further, not caring what the speed limit was.  

"How are we supposed to stop them right…," Fred said meekly with the worry in her eyes clearly evident before she pointed out a street to Gunn and he made a sharp corner, and came very close to spinning out, before gunning the engine and tearing off down the street. 

"We don't need to stop them, we just need to get our friends away from them, with the sun coming up the zombies won't be around much longer," Lorne interjected with a very serious look on his face as he took off his coat and loosened his tie.  

"You mean they burn up like vampires do in the sunlight," Connor said with a confused look on his face that was tinged with a small but steadily growing amount of fear.  No matter how much he acted like he didn't really care what happened to Angel it was clear to everyone that he was just as worried as they were.

"Unfortunately no…sunlight just weakens them severely, they avoid it like the plague," Lorne said with a deep sigh as he sat back in his seat and began to roll up his sleeves. They had gone a few more miles further when Connor was about to ask something but almost flew out of the car when Gunn suddenly slammed on the brakes. 

"What did you do that…for…," Connor started to ask very angrily before he looked up and saw the reason that Gunn had stopped so suddenly.  Less than fifty yards in front of them was congregated what looked to be an army of zombies, seemingly waiting for something to happen.

"Oh no…what do we do now," Fred squeaked with a very frightened look on her face as she began to shake and her eyes grew wide.  

"We save our friends," Gunn said very forcefully before he readied himself and aimed the car right into the heart of the mob of zombies and pushed the accelerator all the way to the floor.

END OF CHAPTER 3


	4. HopeLost And Found

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I create.**

**CHAPTER 4- HOPE…LOST AND FOUND**

Angel knew that he didn't have very much time left.  He had been able to at least momentarily rescue Wesley and Faith from the zombies grasp. But Wesley and Faith both looked well on their way to joining the zombies that were currently holding their position a few feet from Angel.  From what little knowledge of zombies that he had Angel knew that if he had any chance of saving Wesley and Faith that he needed to get them out of the sewers and back to the Hyperion.  But with his strength drained by the exertion of rescuing his friends and the many wounds that he had received during the battle he was starting to lose faith.  The lovers had been bitten each more than once and it was readily apparent that those wounds were infected.  Were he human or anything other than a vampire Angel would have been in the same position.  But as a vampire he was immune to the affects of the zombie's blood and saliva, mostly.  A small part of him wondered what the others would do in the event that he, Faith, and Wesley all died.  He wondered if they would have the fortitude to do what was necessary and make sure that the three weren't zombies for any longer than they had to be.  

Because of her being a slayer Faith was still partially awake, but at this moment she was completely delirious with fever.  Mumbling to herself and to no one in particular about something that made Angel guess that she was remembering a memory most tragic.  His soul cried out in fear and frustration at his inability to do anything more for his friends.  He was the champion after all; he should be able to handle at least a few dozen zombies.  But he had been faced with many more than that and even a champion couldn't take on that many.  He knew that dawn was very close at hand and he hoped that he had remembered correctly a night many months prior in which Wesley had explained to him the strengths and weaknesses of zombies.  Angel had known them before but over the years he had forgotten most of them out of the thought that he'd never have to use them.  He was about to act when the zombies seemed to snap out of whatever kind of stupor they were in and continued their slow advance towards him.

*                  *                   *                  *            *              *                   *              *            *

A few months before this night Fred had forced Gunn into watching the movie The Mummy, solidly against his wishes.  But now as he had aimed the car straight into the heart of the assembled zombies a scene late in the movie came back to Gunn.  It was the scene where the heroes were driving a car and trying to get away from the mummy and all of his followers. Followers that bore a very striking resemblance, at least in their actions and blank stares, to the zombies that were currently in Gunn's way. Beside him Fred was screaming her head off in mostly fear, but Gunn could tell that at least a small part of her was thoroughly enjoying the charge.  In the back seat Lorne was gripping the seat in front of him so tightly that his knuckles had gone white and for a moment Gunn thought that the empathy demon would pass out.  By some miracle Connor had produced a few weapons, so swords or axes or anything like that but only a couple of knives and a stake.  Angel's son seemed primed and ready for the fight, even though it would be his first fight against zombies.  To be truthful Gunn wasn't sure how he would fare against the zombies.  With the limited weapons at their disposal he didn't think that they could even come close to a total victory.  Their only chance of success seemed to be to hope that they could guess the right sewer entry point and find Wesley, Faith, and Angel before the zombies made any sort of escape impossible.  

They plowed through the first wave of zombies easily enough, mostly because they had been able to catch most of them off guard.  But after that the car soon became entangled in various body parts and the crushing mass of the undead.  Connor handed Gunn one of his knives before he leapt out of the car and soon disappeared behind a wave of zombies.  Fred started to yell out in alarm at Connor's actions but her words of alarm turned into a scream as a couple of zombies grabbed her by her and began to slowly drag her out of the car.  Lorne, after snapping out of his frightened stupor, quickly began trying to free Fred.  

"Let go of her…she's not your type…trust me," Lorne said trying to add in his usual dose of humor to the otherwise completely dark situation as he began to pound his fists into the zombies that were attacking Fred.

"Get your hands off of her," Gunn yelled angrily as he quickly put the car into park and then tackled the zombies that were attacking Fred.  Fred barely had time, after Gunn's initial attack which served to momentarily free her from the zombie's grasp, to grab the crowbar that had been lying on the floorboard and scramble out of the car.  Instantly she headed towards the nearest manhole cover, openly praying that it was the one closest to her friends.

*                    *                        *                    *                      *                    *                     *

"Pylea…where's that,"  the red haired main asked with a confused look on his face as he looked back and forth between the two other people in the cell.  

"It is not on this planet, it is another dimension, one that you would not want to visit," the man said with an almost completely emotionless look on his face as he stood up and walked over to the small window and looked out.  

"This is just great, first I leave Los Angeles to get away from vampires with a soul and demons and here I am getting locked into a padded cell with a guy who says he's from another dimension," the blonde haired woman exclaimed with a great amount of sarcasm in her voice as she warily eyed the two men in the room.  The red haired man started off ignoring the blonde haired woman but he quickly became interested as she spoke.

"Wait…what did you say, a vampire with a soul…his name wasn't Angel by any chance," the red haired man said, taking a sudden large amount of interest in her words, as he slowly got up to his knees.  

"Yeah…how'd you know…," the blonde haired woman stuttered out slowly and fearfully as she still wasn't sure if she could trust either of the two men in the room with her.  

"He works with my princess Cordelia," the man then said with a very sad look on his face as he turned around slowly and stared at the floor.  The red haired man let out a large laugh before he responded.

"Cordelia…a princess…we must be thinking of a very different Cordelia Chase," the red haired man exclaimed through small fits of laughter as he seemed to be genuinely surprised at the thought of it all.  

"Maybe we are…but how do you know the princess," the man asked with a very concerned look on his face before he cast a quick glance back over his shoulder through the small window.  

"I used to go to high school with her back in Sunnydale…oh I'm Oz by the way," Oz answered awkwardly, still trying to process what he'd heard, before he broke into a polite smile as he said his name.

"Well met Oz of Sunnydale…my name is Groosalag…but everyone prefers to call me Groo for short," Groo said with a very noble smile on his face as he walked over and extended his hand to Oz, who reciprocated by shaking his hand.

"Well now we know who we are…but we don't know who you are," Oz said with as calm and non aggressive look on his face as he could muster as both he and Groo turned to look at the blonde haired woman.

"You can call me Kate…but that's all for now…and I'm not shaking your hands…not yet," Kate said with a very defensive and bold look on her face as she looked back and forth between Oz and Groo.

"Nice to meet ya Kate…anyone have any idea how long we've been in here," Oz asked with at first a kind smile on his face before his look changed to a frown as he pulled himself up to his feet.  

"No clue, although judging from how long my hair is we've probably been in here awhile," Kate said with an unhappy frown on her face as she ran a hand through her now middle of back length locks.  

"We must escape…for I fear that Angel and my princess are in danger, we must leave this place post haste," Groo said with a ring of certainty to his voice that both Kate and Oz even if they didn't think that they had much of a chance of getting out anytime soon.  

"Well when you come up with a plan…Groo…do please tell us," Kate said with a slightly mocking tone to her voice as she turned a bit and hugged the wall with her body as she appeared to try and get some sleep.  

"We should wait…at least until those guys in lab coats come back, maybe we can knock them out and steal their clothes, use them to escape," Oz exclaimed with an excited glint in his eye as he smiled and walked over to begin to inspect as much of the door as he could.

"Even if that did work…where will we go…we still don't have the faintest clue where we are…," Kate interjected with a sad frown on her face, a frown that soon spread to both Groo and Oz as the two men solemnly nodded in agreement before sitting back down to ponder other means of escape.

*                    *               *                    *               *               *                  *                    *

The young woman had been more than receptive to his plan, what little of it he told her.  He had been shocked to learn that she didn't know who he was.  He had learned that she had simply been ordered to help take care of him.  Lindsey had found himself staring more than once and tried hard to remember to stay on the task at hand.  In the back of his mind he wracked his memory to try and remember when Wolfram and Hart started hiring beautiful women like her, but he came up blank.  He had told the young woman that after she got off to go to the Hyperion and give a man named Angel a special message.  Luckily for him the young woman hadn't heard of Angel yet as if she had Lindsey knew that most likely she wouldn't have gone anywhere near him.  As he watched the young woman leave Lindsey concluded that she was one of the most beautiful women that he'd ever seen, much to his surprise.  Over the years at Wolfram and Hart he had seen many beautiful women, although most of them were women that you only trusted as far as you could throw them, much like Lilah.  But for some reason Lindsey felt that this young woman was different, that just maybe he could trust her.  During his time at Wolfram and Hart Lindsey had been told to not trust anybody, but Angel and his friends had helped him to see that trusting and having feelings for someone didn't make you weak but stronger.  

*                   *                    *                 *                 *                *              *                 *

After leaping into the fray Connor had begun hacking and slashing at anything that moved, not really caring what part of the body he hacked into with his knife.  He hadn't been injured yet and so far was questioning why Gunn and the others had been so uncomfortable about fighting against the zombies.  But as the battle waged on, and his muscles began to lose their strength, Connor understood where their hesitation had come from.  It seemed that no matter how many zombies he killed two or three more always took its place.  Gunn had been able to free Fred from the zombies grasp but he had quickly become accustomed to just how strong the zombies were as he was preparing to slice off a zombies head but one caught his arm and held it fast.  Lorne and hand to hand fighting had been a lost cause from the get go, while the empathy demon could fire a crossbow with the best of them anything other than that and he was doomed.  Somehow though Lorne had managed to stay close to the car, being able to go so far as to get the trunk popped and use the first weapon that he saw to try and drive the zombies back.  

"These things are heavier then I thought," Fred exclaimed fearfully as she struggled to try and pry open the manhole cover.  Fred continued to struggle with the manhole cover, using all of her strength to try and pry it off, but it soon became apparent that she wasn't strong enough.  "I can't do this…," Fred moaned with a totally defeated frown on her face as she slumped her shoulders and hung her head.  

*                *                 *                 *             *              *              *            *                 *

A hack here, a slash there, even through his onslaught they kept coming.  His sword and his clothes were covered with so many different liquid and body fluids that had he been able to stop and think about if for a second probably would have sickened him to no end.  The pile of permanently dead bodies started to pile up at his feet, a dismembered head here and a disemboweled body there.  He had stopped even trying to keep track of how many he had laid to rest.  He had managed to still stay near enough to Faith and Wesley to be able to make sure that they hadn't died yet, but he was beginning to seriously worry about Wesley.  The ex-watchers skin was already starting to darken and pale.  His one glimmer of hope was when a zombie had gotten a lucky shot in and been able to knock him off of his feet Angel had fallen down next to Faith and Wesley.  And on his way up he had noticed that somehow the two lovers had found each other even in their current condition, with their hands clasped together and their palms together with their fingers alternating.  That sight had given him enough renewed vigor to continue the fight no matter how bleak the outlook seemed.  

He still wore his game face but gone completely was the swagger and surge of energy that it had brought.  Now even he was nearing the point of complete exhaustion, something that he had only done a couple of times before.  Throughout the fight he had formulated a plan in his mind, he had gotten Faith and Wesley close enough to a manhole cover with a ladder underneath it.  In the event that he thought that he wasn't going to make it he would sprint up the ladder, throw the manhole cover off, and then use all of his remaining strength to try and push the two lovers up onto the pavement, hoping that someone would find them and know what to do.  

In fact he was just about to enact that plan when he thought he heard a shout from the street above that sound awfully familiar.  That first shout he blew off as his mind playing tricks on him.  But when he heard a scream from above his mind and soul were convinced, the cavalry had finally arrived.  He recognized Fred's initial scream instantly, a small smile curling the edges of his mouth before he lopped off the head of another zombie.  Angel didn't know that the reach of the zombies extended through more than just the sewers to the streets above.  He half expected that at any moment the manhole above him would be pulled off and Gunn and Connor would be there to help him and Wesley and Faith escape.  Almost all of his hopes for rescue were crushed when he heard the faintest sound; one that he thought would be his death knell.  Through all of the battling down in the sewer and on the street above Angel could distinctly hear Fred sniffling and starting to cry along with what she expected to quite possibly be her last words.  Angrily cursing the zombies directly Angel spun around and was at the top of the ladder in seconds, hoping that he had enough time to accomplish what he set out to do.  

*               *               *                 *                *                *               *                      *

She had uttered her final words, or so she thought, and for at least the second time in her life Winifred Burkle was ready to die. After trying several times in vain to try and pry the manhole cover up she had given up and resigned herself to the fate that she fully expected to befall her.  She had sunk down into a state of depression that she didn't expect to ever come out of.  She was so deep in fact that she didn't notice that as she uttered what she thought were going to be her last words the first warming rays of the suns light peeked over the horizon and began to fill the streets.

The zombies didn't react at first, but it was only seconds later that they all stopped what they were doing and began to slowly filter out of the street as fast as they could.  It was like someone had simply called them back.  Connor crouched down and tried to catch his breath, fearful that the zombies retreat was some kind of a trick.  When the zombies had begun their retreat several of them had been holding Gunn aloft and so he was sent crashing to the pavement below.  Lorne took the opportunity to slide down the side of the car and end up sitting on the street with his back up against the back bumper, letting the suns rays warm him.  Gunn was about to speak when the manhole cover nearest to Fred was suddenly thrown off and was sent crashing through a nearby storefront window, setting off an ear piercing alarm.  

"Fred watch out," Gunn yelled out with a very unsure look on his face as he picked himself up off of the street and began to scramble towards Fred.  Fred would have responded had not one she been very afraid and two Angel's voice shot out of the opening. 

"Fred…Gunn…," Angel shouted with a combination of excitement and relief in his voice before he dropped back down into the sewer and was even more relieved to see the zombies start to slowly back away.  Before he knew it Connor had scrambled into the hole and was barely able to avoid tripping over the severed body parts.

"Dad…are you alright," Connor asked with a worried look on his face as he immediately rushed to Angel's side.

"I've been better…listen I'll be fine…help me get Faith and Wesley out of here, they're in danger," Angel replied with a tired but happy look on his face as he put a hand to steady himself on Connor's shoulder and pointed to where Faith and Wesley were lying.

"What happened to them," Connor asked with a very confused and alarmed look on his face as he bent down next to Wesley, almost afraid to touch him.

"The zombies bit them, if we don't get the antidote into them quickly enough they'll both turn into zombies before nightfall," Angel answered with a very serious and almost scared look on his face before he rushed over and bent down next to Faith, who was still mumbling incoherently.  

"What happened," Connor asked with a serious scowl on his face as he picked Wesley up as best he could and started to drag him back towards the ladder.

"We came down to investigate…see if we could find anything, but all we found was the zombies," Angel said with a grave look on his face as he picked Faith up in his arms and marveled at how small she now seemed.

"We had to fight them to…Cordelia called us and told us where you were," Connor said with a strained look on his face as he started to struggle to lift Wesley up the ladder with him before Gunn stuck a hand down through the open manhole and helped to pull Wesley up.  Angel hung his head a bit in sadness and shame as he heard Fred's shocked and worried gasp.  

"Cordy…how did she," Angel started to ask with a confused and worried look on his face as he got to the bottom of the ladder and then helped Connor and Gunn get Faith out of the sewers as well.  He would have followed Connor up the ladder had not the sun's rays already started to filter in through the open manhole.  

"I'll tell you on the way back to the hotel," Gunn interjected with a very serious look on his face as he stuck his head down through the open manhole.  

"There's no time…Gunn you get Faith and Wesley back to the hotel, have Fred drive Wesley's SUV back to the hotel, and Connor…you go with Lorne…use his contacts and get some of the antidote," Angel commanded sternly as began to dust some of the dirt and grime off of his clothes.

"Why do I have to go with…," Connor began to say with a look of tempered disgust on his face as he stopped on the top rung of the ladder and looked back down at Angel.

"Because I'm doubting that Lorne will just be able to waltz in and ask for the antidote, you'll probably have to fight for the antidote, and Wesley and Faith are far more important than your distrust of Lorne," Angel responded with a very fatherly look of resolution on his face as he fished around through the bodies and recovered both Wesley's axe and Faith's sword.  

"What about you…," Connor said with a grim look of acceptance on his face as he used his free hand to take the weapons from Angel and lay them up on the street.

"I've got a few things to check on down here before I return to the hotel, tell Cordy not to worry about me, I'll use the sewers and then the tunnels," Angel said with a somber look on his face as he used the sleeve of a zombie to wipe the blood from his sword.  

"You sure man, you don't look so good," Gunn added with a concerned look on his face as Connor fully got out of the sewer and Gunn looked back down.  

"I'll be fine…I'm already undead remember, some blood and a good nights sleep and I'll be good as new," Angel said with a weary smile on his face before he nodded his head one final time and headed off down a dark passageway.  

"Do you really think he'll be okay," Connor asked Gunn with a genuinely concerned look on his face as he stood up and dusted off his jeans before he helped Gunn carry Wesley over to the car.  

"He has to be, because with Wes and Faith out of action for awhile he's the only champion we got…present company excluded of course," Gunn replied with a very concerned frown on his face as he and Connor softly sat Wesley down in the back seat and buckled him in.  

"See you guys back at the hotel," Fred said with a very unsure frown on her face as she looked kind of like she was about ready to pass out before she swallowed hard and walked off to find Wesley's SUV.  

"Ooh…she doesn't look so good," Lorne exclaimed with a solemn and worried frown on his face as he held one hand beneath Faith's head and used his other hand to check her pulse.  

"Angel said that she'd be fine if you and Connor could get the antidote," Gunn said with a little or no emotion in his voice as he walked back towards Lorne while Connor looked on with an unhappy look on his face.  

"He did huh…well he's right about that, if we get them the antidote in time they'll be fine in a few days, but some of the scars will stay for the rest of their lives…nasty side effect of the zombies venom…," Lorne said sadly as he lightly brushed some hair off of Faith's face.  

"Well then you two had better get started," Gunn said with a hurried look on his face as he bent down and picked Faith up before taking her back to the car.

"One more thing Gunn…make sure to keep those two together, when you get back to the hotel find a bed big enough for them both, if they're together the whole time it'll help their recovery," Lorne said, while holding up his hand as if to emphasize his point, as he frowned sadly at Wesley buckled up in the back seat and Gunn buckling Faith up in the back seat beside him.  

"Will do…see you two back at the hotel," Gunn said with a serious look on his face as he closed the trunk, after replacing the weapons, and then jumped into the front seat of the car.  Within seconds the cars engine roared to life and with a final tempered wave Gunn took off back toward the hotel.

"Come on kiddo…let's go get that antidote," Lorne said solemnly with a sigh after Gunn disappeared from view.  

END OF CHAPTER 4


	5. Things Don't Look So Good

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the new ones that I create.**

**CHAPTER 5-THINGS DON'T LOOK SO GOOD**

Tires screeching, engine roaring, and a dark flash, that was all anyone saw and heard as Gunn raced back towards the Hyperion.  Every chance he got he would quickly look back at Wesley and Faith, hoping against hope that something had changed and he'd see them back to normal, as healthy as they had been just hours earlier.  But every time he did look back he was met by the same image, that of two people that he considered friends slowly dying.  Shortly after he had buckled her in Faith had finally passed out and stopped mumbling.  Gunn didn't know whether to take that as a good sign, that she was just nodding off to let her body try and heal itself, or a bad thing, that she had finally just given up.  He barely let off the accelerator as he raced around corners and passed people that had to jump back to avoid being run over.  The buildings that he passed quickly became nothing more than a blur, for time was of the essence.  He hadn't paid much thought to the how or where the zombies had come from, his only concern being that they were gone for the time being and that the effect of their attack could be done away with as fast as possible.

Fred hadn't taken long to find Wesley's SUV and as she got behind the wheel she tried to take it cool and easy and just start the engine and start off back towards the hotel.  But seconds after getting in she discovered that she had forgotten to get the keys from Wesley's pocket.  For a short time she couldn't take it any more, after all that had happened that night and early in the morning she broke down and shed tears that she had been unable to earlier.  As she fought back the tears she began to slowly feel around, first under the seat and then in between the seats, hoping that Wesley had a hidden key somewhere.  It took a few seconds but she finally located an extra key that Wesley had hidden well in the center console.  She quickly put her seatbelt on; put the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life.  Seconds later she was racing off back towards the Hyperion as well, hoping that she would reach the hotel before either all hell broke loose or a client walked into the lobby wanting help.  The last thing that she or any of the others needed right now was someone requesting help.  Because in fact they were the ones, above all others, that needed the help at that moment.  

*                *                 *                 *                     *                  *                  *                    *

He dug through the bodies, fighting off the overwhelming stench and his sluggish and aching muscles at the same time.  He winced in disgust as he used the tip of his sword to push the small intestines of one of the zombies out of the way because he thought that he had seen something shiny underneath it.  When he found nothing underneath it he sighed deeply in contempt before moving on.  He sifted through the remains for what seemed like an hour or two before he found what he was looking for, even if he didn't fully understand exactly what it was that he had found.  After rolling over a rather small body he saw it, a round disc shaped object about the size of the amulet that Angel had seen in Raiders of The Lost Ark.  The amulet was highlighted by a small red jewel in the center that was surrounded by what looked like a light background of skulls with ancient writing in concentric bands that circled from the center jewel all the way to the outside edges.  Despite his years of research and knowledge of ancient languages Angel was clueless as to what the marks on the amulet meant.  A not so small shudder ran through his body as he realized that he knew someone that would mostly likely be able to decipher what the marks meant.  Wesley, the man of whom Angel had lately entrusted many of his fears, was the only one that could figure out exactly what this amulet was used for. As Angel stood up he felt a warm feeling rush through his body.  At first he didn't know what to make of it, thinking that he was so tired that he had simply dreamt the occurrence.  But then the wave of warmth flooded through him again and he was startled to see the bodies of some of the more intact zombies begin to glow slightly and then move.  

"What the hell…," Angel muttered almost as an unholy oath before more and more of the zombies began to twitch and flop around.  He was about to edge closer to one of them to investigate when he heard sounds reminiscent to the ones that he had heard before the zombies' first attack.  The low moaning sound was coming from somewhere off to his right, and from the echo that it was receiving Angel determined that it was more zombies and that they were headed his way.  "Better not stick around to long...," Angel said under his breath as he tried to rub the fatigue out of his neck before he dropped the amulet into one of his pockets and cleaned his sword on another body.  With a final look back over his shoulder Angel waded through the remaining bodies and then sprinted off as fast as he could back through the sewers towards the Hyperion, dodging the small shafts of light that filtered in through the grates above.  

*              *                *              *                *                *               *               *                   *

He could see the hesitation in her eyes, the amount of trepidation in her step.  He suddenly became quite convinced that she hadn't made it out of the building after he had instructed her of what to do.  But from her actions he was also able to gather that apparently she was also the only one that knew of what he had told her, and for that his heart quickened a few beats.  He still didn't know her name or anything else about her but for some reason he felt that she had passed at least a small test and therefore deserved some trust.  The first time that he had seen her he really hadn't noticed much about her other than her soft voice and the smoothness of her skin as she checked the various healing progress of the bruises that he had received during his capture.  But now that he got a closer look at her his infatuation only grew.  Lindsey McDonald had seen and been with beautiful women many times before.  Working at Wolfram and Hart he had been rewarded, like many other advancement minded employees, with special awards and presents.  He had even heard rumors of some of the senior partners owning their own harems.  But most of the time he had dismissed those rumors as the musings of some of the very lonely night watchmen that had slowly filtered their way up the ladder.  Lilah had always scoffed at the rumors with her usual cocky flair.  

He had heard rumors from some of the women, and a few of the men which mostly came when he could only listen to their voices as his eyelids had grown too heavy to open them.  They told of Lilah's death after her failed attack on Angel and his friends at the hotel.  That and the man that she had been seducing and had secretly fallen in love with, Wesley Wyndam Pryce, had spurned her and instead ended up with the rogue slayer Faith.  He didn't know whether or not to believe the rumors but something about them told him that they were at least partially true.  While it was true that he and Lilah had never gotten along very well, in anything but their onetime hatred for Angel, he still felt a twinge of sadness as he started to believe the rumors.  He felt little to no anger towards those who had brought about her downfall, for he knew very well that when Wolfram and Hart wanted to get rid of someone they used any excuse that they wanted.  Even if on later review the excuse seemed totally ludicrous.  

He still had yet to determine what her name was.  He had come close to learning it many times before, mostly when she did not come in alone and the other woman would become angry with her work.  He didn't have the strength to ask for her name outright, as the last time that he had saved up enough strength to even speak it had been so that he could tell her the message that he wanted her to get to Angel.  Even though she had probably been repeatedly told and even threatened not to talk to him she had done so.  He was thankful for that and thankful that so far he hadn't been able to see that anyone had done anything to her.  The last thing that he saw before he passed back into unconsciousness was her kind smile and the worry in her eyes.  What he didn't know happened was that after he passed out she leaned in close and whispered softly into his ear, "I won't fail you Lindsey…I swear it," before leaning back up slightly and quietly kissing him on the cheek.

*                 *                *                 *              *                *                 *            *                *

They had waited for hours for anyone to come, with Oz trying to explain a great many things to Groo and a bored Kate trying to piece together in her mind exactly how she had come to be in this place.  She remembered that she had gone out with some friends after they had begged her to go with them for days.  Most of the night had gone by easily enough, but as the hours grew late she noticed that suddenly she was sitting alone at the table.  She had gone outside of the club to try and find her friends but then had been struck in the back of the head and everything had instantly gone black.  She had woken up many hours later with a splitting migraine and strapped to a bed with almost no clothes on.  After that she had no memories until she woke up with Oz and Groo staring at her with worried looks on their faces.  

Oz had few memories, only that the last thing he remembered before winding up where he was now was that he had sat in with another band for a few sets.  The club had been a rather small one and the lights had all been dimmed so it was also a very dark club.  Through the haze of cigarette smoke Oz had noticed the several large men that he had seen following him over the past few days.  He had tried to use the darkness of the club and how tightly people were packed into it to try and avoid his pursuers before he could think of what to do.  His first instinct was to simply hop back in his van and go on the run until he could figure out why the men were after him.  His second instinct was to hop in his van and race back towards Sunnydale, hoping that Willow and Buffy and everyone else could help him.  He only got to the van's door before he was shot with a tranquilizer dart and then a burlap bag was jammed over his head and the lights spun like a kaleidoscope before going dark.  The next thing he knew he was being forced by an electric shock to change back and forth between his werewolf form and his human form, much like what the Initiative had done to him.  But this time there had been no rescue and he knew that no one was going to even think of looking for him.  

Groo had finally found what he considered to be a home in one of the boroughs in New York City.  He had gone there mostly as a vagabond, riding the rails and whatever buses that he could when he had managed to save up enough money from the various odd jobs that he had performed after leaving Los Angeles.  All the way he had tried to put his princess out of his mind, doing anything and everything that he could think of, from some special soups and drinks from Pylea and a fair amount of women that he had rescued from one drunken bar patron after another.  But nothing had worked and soon he felt disgusted with himself, as if he had sullied his name and title.  Because of that he had stopped fighting altogether and tried to find another way to live.  That quest had only lasted a few short weeks when he had come across a group of heavily armed men that were terrorizing the local homeless population.  He had become incensed when he discovered that they did it just for kicks, because they said that the homeless couldn't fight back and no one would care if there were a few less homeless people on the streets of New York City.  After he heard that he had become a protector of the homeless, guarding them against anything that sought to do them harm, human or otherwise.  He hadn't noticed the patch on the men's uniforms, but later he would wish that he had.  For the patch had the initials of W and H, which he would later discover to mean Wolfram and Hart.  But by that time they had sent a mini army after him and used cattle prods to shock him into submission. The next thing that he knew he had woken up on the table next to Oz and Kate.

*                 *                *                *               *                 *                *            *               *

Cordelia Chase had long ago formed a habit of doing things that she knew she shouldn't be doing.  From making friends with those that she considered dweebs and geeks to joining forces with a soul having vampire and his friends to fight evil.  While in the end both actions had turned out mostly for the best she couldn't say that if she had to do it all over again without knowing the outcome that she'd do it the same way.  Struggling to gingerly climb down the stairs, each step a new level of pain and discomfort, all because of a vision that she knew not how it had ended.  She had tried to call first Wesley and then Fred on their cell phones, but after not getting a response had decided to see what was going on herself.  She had gotten down to the lobby only to discover that the hotel was deserted.  She made a quick quip about her horrible timing before the front doors of the Hyperion burst open as a very weary Gunn stormed in dragging a horrible looking Wesley with him.  

Cordelia had to fight back the urge to both faint and vomit at the site of her old friend.  He looked like death warmed over as his eyes were closed and his mouth was open, a sickly color of drool slipping out.  His skin had begun to turn a light blue and he had begun to perspire very heavily.  He looked as if he had contracted some horrible fever.  Cordelia had to use the counter to keep herself standing up before she started to ask a question but Gunn laid Wesley down on the round couch before turning around and running back out of the lobby.  She was about to crack a joke when Gunn reentered the lobby carrying someone that looked like Faith.  It took her several seconds for her brain to process what she was seeing, Faith, the slayer that had killed humans and demons alike, the slayer that for a long time she saw as nigh invulnerable and emotionless other than anger, looked like she was dying.  

"Oh God…what happened," Cordelia asked fearfully as she put a hand over her mouth and held onto the counter with the other hand.  

"Zombies got them…bad…," Gunn started to say with a worried beyond belief look on his face as he set Faith down on the couch beside Wesley before he looked up and really noticed that Cordelia was standing beside him.  "Cordelia…what the hell are you doing, you're not supposed to…," Gunn continued with a slightly overwhelmed scowl on his face before Cordelia interrupted him. 

"I'm fine Gunn…really…I was right…my vision was right…," Cordelia mumbled fearfully as she winced in pain and then staggered over to the couch and sat down next to Wesley just as a panic stricken Fred rushed through the front doors.  

"Are they…how are they…," Fred exclaimed as she scrambled down the front steps and ran across the lobby to come to a stop beside Gunn.  

"Not good…if Lorne doesn't get back here with that antidote soon I'm thinking that these two don't have till sundown before…," Gunn said with a very grim scowl on his face as he leaned down to carefully inspect the bite on Faith's neck and shoulder.  

"They become zombies and we lose them forever…," Fred exclaimed with a great amount of sadness and fear in her voice as she walked over and took Wesley's pulse.  

"We can't let that happen," Cordelia interjected forcefully with a very determined look on her face, a look that when she got it everyone knew that she meant what she had said.  

"No argument here," Gunn said with a slight nod of his head as he took a deep breath before he leaned back down and picked Faith back up.

"Where are you taking her," Cordelia asked with a worried and still shocked look on her face as she tried to rise but a shooting pain in her back caused her to stay seated.

"Somewhere quieter…," Gunn said quickly as he quickly carried Faith towards the steps and then as best he could sprinted up the steps.

"Lorne told us to find a bed big enough for both of them, that we should keep them together because it'd help them get better faster…that is if we ever get the antidote," Fred started to say with a calm look on her face as she wiped a few stray strands of hair back behind her ear before her resolve started to visibly show cracks as she sat down beside Wesley.  

"We will Fred…we have to…where's Angel…and Connor," Cordelia said with at first a reassuring smile on her face before her face darkened slowly as she looked around the lobby and noticed two people absent.  

"Connor went with Lorne to get the antidote because Angel didn't think that Lorne would be able to get it alone…and Angel…well he said that he'd be back just as soon as he checked something out," Fred answered with a tired yawn as she leaned back up against the vertical part of the circular couch and closed her eyes.  

"Check something out…like what," Cordelia asked with a concerned look on her face, with a hand on the small of her back, as she sat up and looked over at Fred just as Gunn started to come back down the stairs.  

"Like this," Angel said solemnly with a pained frown on his face as he reached into his pocket and tossed the amulet that he had found onto the couch beside Cordelia.  

"Angel," Cordelia said with a combination relieved and extremely worried look on her face as she faced the pain and stood up before rushing as best she could muster to Angel's side.  Fred reached over and picked the amulet up, before studying it closely with her usual skeptic eye, while Gunn walked to Wesley's side and prepared to pick him up.  

"I'm fine Cordy…really," Angel mumbled out slowly before he faltered a bit and had to grip the counter tightly to keep from falling over. 

"Angel," Fred and Cordelia cried out in unison as Angel shook his head before passing out and slumping to the floor.

"He's burning up…," Cordelia exclaimed with a frantic look on her face as she knelt down beside Angel as best she could and place her hand on his forehead.  

"The zombies poison must be getting to him to…," Gunn said with a shell-shocked look on his face as he grunted and strained to pick Wesley up and then start to walk back towards the stairs.

"We have to help him…," Cordelia mumbled sadly as she laid Angel's head in her lap and took one of his hands in hers.

"We will…but we can't help him any better than we can help Faith and Wesley until Lorne and Connor get back with the antidote," Fred said with a very worried look on her face as she looked up at Gunn, with tear rimmed eyes, from her position kneeling at Angel and Cordelia's side.  

"I love this job," Gunn grumbled sarcastically as he shook his head and began to drag Wesley up the stairs.

END OF CHAPTER 5


	6. Fevered Dreams And New Allies

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I create.**

**Author's Note:  I need a little help for the next chapter; I need a name for the woman that wants to help Lindsey.  All suggestions are welcome.  Thank you and enjoy the chapter.**

**CHAPTER 6-Fevered Dreams And New Allies**

Like clockwork they came, one right after the other, all not wanting to leave the pair alone for more than even a few minutes, fearing the potential consequences.  Lorne and Connor had returned around midday with three doses of the antidote and a standing order for more if it was needed.  Connor had tried not to show it but upon hearing that Angel had passed out from the affects of the zombies poison he had nearly become as pale as his father.  For the first time he didn't feel a single pang of jealousy or anger when he stormed into Angel's room to find Cordelia sitting in a chair beside the bed and holding one of Angel's hands in her own.  Connor hadn't really seen Angel in any other condition than pretty much at his best.  Sure there had been the time when Wesley had saved him from the bottom of the ocean and brought him back to the Hyperion but Angel had been strong enough then to lay down the law.  But this time Angel looked as if a kitten could have bested him.  He was sweating profusely and looked to be even paler than usual.

"What's wrong…I thought he said that he'd be able to handle it," Connor asked with a combination confused, angry, and worried scowl on his face as he rushed to Cordelia's side.

"He can Connor, but the zombie's venom is still potent enough to put him out of action for awhile…did you get the antidote," Cordelia replied with a very worried look on her face and it was quickly evident to Connor that she had been crying only seconds earlier.   

"Yeah…I've got Angel's dose in my pocket and Lorne is bringing the rest to Faith and Wesley," Connor said with a hurried look on his face as he pulled what looked a slender tube of glowing green ooze out of his pocket before handing it to Cordelia.

"What are we supposed to do with this," Cordelia asked with a slightly let down frown on her face as she studied the tube closely.  

"He has to drink it…that's what the shaman said," Connor answered with a very concerned look on his face as Cordelia eyed him with a slightly confused look on her face.

"Well then what are we waiting for…," Cordelia said with a look on her face like she was about ready to throw up, as she opened the top of the tube, before she slowly lifted Angel's head up with one hand and guided the top of the tube to his lips with the other.

*                *               *                 *                  *                *               *              *            

Upstairs in one of the larger rooms Gunn had laid Faith and Wesley side by side in the bed and with Fred's help had removed all of their clothes except for their underwear.  Gunn had tried to keep his eyes off of Faith's half naked form as he set about trying to clean Wesley's wounds as best he could while Fred did the same with Faith.  Somehow during the ordeal of removing their clothes and then working on cleaning out their wounds Fred had been shocked to discover that Wesley and Faith seemed to be holding hands, even though both were still unconscious.  Some of the bite marks on Faith seemed to be trying to heal up but couldn't because of the zombie venom in them.  Fred pointed this out to Gunn with a very worried look on her face before Lorne stumbled into the room carrying the two doses of antidote.

"Lorne," Gunn and Fred called out in unison with a great amount of both worry and relief as Fred hopped up off of the bed and rushed to Lorne's side.

"Did you get the antidote," Gunn asked very directly with a grim look on his face as he got up off of the bed and pulled the blankets up to leave only Faith and Wesley's head and shoulders out.  

"Yeah…got them right here," Lorne answered triumphantly as he held up the two vials of blue glowing liquid and smiled. 

"So what do we do now," Fred asked with a very worried frown on her face as her gaze flittered back and forth between the empathy demon and her two friends at death's door on the bed.  

"The shaman said that they have to drink the antidote…and then the rest is up to them," Lorne started to say with an unhappy frown on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and handed one vial to Gunn and the other to Fred.

"Well let's see what this does," Gunn mumbled with a great amount of trepidation in his voice as he and Fred shared a worried glance before the two slowly walked back to the bed and proceeded to almost force Wesley and Faith to drink the contents of the vial.

"Well we've done all that we can…it's up to them now…if you're religious now would be a good time to pray," Lorne said with an unhappy sigh as he frowned and checked his watch before peering out of the window and saying a silent prayer of his own.

*                 *                *               *                *                *                *                *             *

"When are you two going to give it up…they're not coming, they're going to leave us in here to rot," Kate grumbled with a tired look on her face as she pulled herself up to a seated position and clasped her hands together behind her head.  

"They'll come…they wanted us for something…and after all of those tests that they ran on us they're not going to just let us die in here," Oz said with a slightly defiant look on his face as he fought the temptation to agree with Kate.

"Unless they got everything that they wanted from us and now don't care what happens to us," Groo added with an innocent look of concern on his face as he slightly turned away from looking out of the small window in the door.

"Not helping Groo…got anything else in that big head of yours," Kate mumbled back with a very impatient and frustrated frown on her face as she glared up at Groo before she saw the hurt look on his face.  Almost instantly she regretted her words and was about to attempt an apology when Oz cut in.  

"Somebody's coming," Oz said in a harsh whisper as he gazed through the small window that Groo had just vacated.  Oz and Groo quickly hit the floor, hoping to fool those who were coming into thinking that they were asleep.  Kate eyed them with a great amount of disdain.

"What are you doing…you don't…you don't….ah…," Kate started to ask angrily before she became woozy and realized to late that whoever was holding them had begun to pump a knockout gas into the room.

*               *                 *                 *                *                *               *                 *         *

Her gaze flittered about, desperately searching to try and see if anyone was following her.  After treating Lindsey she had returned to the locker room and dressed before riding the elevator down to the first floor lobby.  Her position in the company was well known, or at least the group that she was a part of was well known.  Her group was basically in charge of keeping the high performers and top executives at Wolfram and Hart happy, by any means necessary.  She had the horror stories on her first day, hoping them to only be stories that were told to every new worker.  Little did she know that most of those stories were actually being sugarcoated to hide what truly went on.  She had been told to not make any personal connections with any of those that she did business with.  But after looking at some of the outfits that the other members of her group had worn she had begun to wonder if maybe she had made the biggest mistake of her life by leaving Miami. She had begun working for Wolfram and Hart shortly after she had run out of money to pay for college.  Desperate and having no real family to speak of she had begun babysitting for a rich family shortly thereafter and through that connection had been sent to Los Angeles and into the clutches of Wolfram and Hart.

She had been lucky so far, only having to tend to Lindsey in the special sealed room.  None of her superiors would tell her why he was there or what was wrong with him, giving her the first instinct that she would actually be helping him if he were to stay in that room.  But one night, while her boss had been called into a meeting she had taken the opportunity and read some of the files on the desk.  It was then that she had discovered part of what was truly going on and that discovery had fueled her desire to not only help Lindsey but to get herself free of Wolfram and Hart.  But she knew that was easier said than done.  Some of the other workers in her group had regaled her with more horror stories of what had happened to people who had tried to leave the company without the top people allowing it to happen.  

Although pretty much everyone who knew her thought of her to be a quiet young woman and for most in the company she was thought of as fresh meat she had another side.  Growing up she had a very close friend that had gotten her interested in the martial arts.  She had never actually had to use anything that she had learned, she used it more to get all of her aggression out and as a form of exercise.  When she had started babysitting for the family, shortly after her twenty first birthday, the husband had begun watching her with a very lustful look in his eye.  In fact when she had left to travel to Los Angeles she had been about to tell his wife what he was up to.  Her first few jobs for Wolfram and Hart had been modeling jobs, being the pretty girl in the thong in the add to get people's attention.  After that she had joined the group that she was currently in.  On the day that she had sworn to Lindsey that she would help him she had been informed that she would soon be changing jobs, and the new uniform that she had been given left her confused and worried.  The uniform reminded her of some of the outfits that she had seen when she had been unfortunate enough to give one of her friends a ride to her boyfriend's house and he had a porn tape on.  

She crossed through the lobby easily enough, with a final security check with Paul at the front desk, before she exited the building and checked her watch.  She knew that she only had three days to either keep her promise and help to free Lindsey by getting his message to a man named Angel or lose her chance forever.  She still couldn't quite put her finger on the reason why she was helping Lindsey, but a small part of her had begun to question whether or not it was because she was falling in love with him, something that she knew would get her into trouble.  The beginnings of the plan on how to save Lindsey began to swirl in her mind as she drove home that night.

*                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *

Growing up in the training to be a watcher and then working Angel had left Wesley Wyndam Pryce with a vast knowledge of just how complex the world truly was.  But dealing with the affects of the zombies poison and then that coupled with the antidote had brought him to a whole new level of reality.  He was no longer able to distinguish between what was real and what was fake within his mind.  Even though he was unconscious the whole time he was somehow able to know when there were people around him, and he could feel that there was always someone beside him.  It didn't take him long to figure out who that person was, Faith, and because of her presence he knew that he could get through whatever was to come.  Years later when he would write about this period of his life in his memoirs Wesley would describe it as being like he was under the influence of a very powerful drug.  Visions kept dancing in his head, but unlike at Christmas where they were supposed to be sugar plums, these visions more closely resembled something out of a horror movie.  He seemed to be on some sort of a highway, with each and every low point in his life brought up in vivid color, as if he was being forced to relive each and every one of them all over again.  

He could feel the fear and shame that he had felt when as a young man he had almost allowed a very dangerous demon to escape.  Two men had died in the effort to put the creature down, but since Wesley was of the right cut of cloth that incident hadn't gone past the Watchers Council.  From that he could then feel the horrible feeling of uselessness that he had felt when he first arrived in Sunnydale and everyone had treated him like a younger sibling that no one wanted to even admit they were related to.  He could once again feel the pain of the ropes biting into his wrists as Faith bound him to the chair and then the sharp shards of glass as they dug into his skin.  Then it had been the hot edge of Justine's knife as it slid across his throat and nearly killed him.  Even though he couldn't move a muscle he could still feel the blood passing effortlessly in between his fingers and then down his wrist.  The final experience before he blacked out was of fighting for air as Angel tried to smother him in his hospital bed.

Faith's journey was different, much of her past had been dark days, so when they started appearing she had at first become confused and then angry at them even being brought up again.  The memories that brought her to her proverbial knees were of the crimes that put her in prison.  The worst was her first kill, the deputy mayor.  It had truly been an accident, a heat of the moment thing.  But then she had seemingly found herself on a roller coaster, unable or unwilling to get off.  That had all led to the one memory, that in her condition, almost killed her.  It was the memory of the night that she had tortured Wesley mercilessly.  But then a funny thing happened that she could never have expected.  She was still in the moment of the memory but instead of the look that she remembered Wesley wearing that night he was completely calm, with a great deal of love in his eyes.  That single image stayed with her, no matter how many times she tried to shake it, until the exact moment that she awoke days later.  She would spend much of the rest of her life trying to figure out why it had been.

The road that Angel was sent on was one that he had been down many times before.  While it was true that soon after he was cursed with his soul again all of the memories off all of the foul deeds that he had done as Angelus came rushing back to overwhelm him it had been the second time and so he was better prepared.  So when the memories started to come again at first they didn't have the same effect that they had earlier.  He found himself able to control most of the memories, at least to a point.  He could speed them up, ushering in the next one much faster than before.  But much of the pain of those memories was able to get through.  Just when he thought that the flood of memories was over newer ones sprang into his mind.  They started with his attempts to get Connor back and all of the hell that those attempts had brought about.  Then came his attack on Wesley in the hospital, at which he could hear Angelus laughing at him, taking a great amount of joy from the amount of pain that the memory caused.  The rest of the memories, Connor coming back, losing Cordelia, spending the summer at the bottom of the Pacific, being rescued by Wesley and Justine, and finally getting Cordelia fully back rushed through his mind before he very nearly leapt out of bed before Cordelia and Connor could calm him down.

*               *                *                 *                 *                    *               *            *             *

Kate's first thoughts upon regaining consciousness were that she was still in that same small room with padded walls.  She thought that she was still stuck there with Groo and Oz, at the mercy of some mysterious person or group, unable to do anything for herself, except argue and sleep.  But she quickly discovered that not to be the case any longer.  When she looked around the room she discovered herself to be in a small room decorated like a child's room, complete with daisies on the wallpaper and a corner filled with stuffed animals of every shape, size, and color. The only sound that she could hear was the sound of birds chirping outside of a nearby window.  After clearing her head she staggered up to her feet and then used the wall to keep her standing as she slowly crept out of the room and down a darkened hallway.  She carefully peered into the first room that she came to.  Inside of it she saw a bunk bed with both beds filled.  Oz was snoring away on the top bunk while Groo looked as if he had been dumped onto the lower bunk.  Neither looked injured but Oz did have a dark bruise on his left arm that hadn't been there before.  

Kate started to go into the room to investigate when she heard a noise from outside.  She turned around and leaned back up against the wall.  With what strength that she still possessed Kate retraced her steps back to the room that she had woken up in and almost fell as she tried to get back to the bed.  The noise slowly grew louder as she pulled herself up onto the bed and rolled over onto her back.  She was just about to pull the covers up around her when a rather heavyset middle aged man walked around the corner with a shocked but relieved smile on his face.  

"Good…you're awake," the man said with a sigh before he rushed to the window and nervously gazed around for a few shot seconds before closing the blinds.  

"Who…who are you…where am I…what…," Kate started to babble out fearfully as she sat up in the bed and tried to stay as far away from the man as her tired body would allow.

"Who I am isn't important…as for where you are you're in my house…my daughters old room actually…my wife and three children died in a car accident a few months back and I…," the man said at first with a very calm and non-threatening look on his face before as he got closer to the end his demeanor changed abruptly and he looked as if he were about to cry.

"I…I'm sorry…but what…," Kate said with a sad frown on her face as she slowly started to relax, but just a bit.

"You're safe now…I got the three of you out of that horrible place…I'm sorry for what whatever they did to the three of you…," the man replied with an embarrassed frown on his face as he sat down on the edge of the bed opposite Kate and looked away.

"How…I'm not following you…," Kate said nervously as she tried to get a kink out of her neck.  

"The gas…sorry about that by the way…but it was necessary, anyway after the three of you were sleeping like babies I loaded the three of you into three of the bags that the company uses to haul out the dead bodies, and then I drove you to a mortuary where a friend of mine set you three aside before I came back and brought the three of you here last night," the man said with a very nervous look on his face as he began to sweat.

"But why…why would you help us…you don't even know us," Kate asked with a thoroughly confused look on her face as she pulled the blankets closer to her.

"Because I know what they're planning and the three of you were going to be a big part of their plan, and I couldn't let them get away with it," the man said with a worried, but also very determined, frown on his face as he stood up and then walked towards the door.  

"What who's planning…and what plan," Kate asked again, still feeling like she was grasping at straws.

"Wolfram and Hart…the first part of their plan is already underway with Lindsey McDonald being back, Angel and his two friends barely survived phase two…the three of you were going to be phase three…in the end those bastards would have used you all to control all of the non humans in Los Angeles…and then the world, all leading up to the apocalypse, when they'd use Angel to make it end their way, but now at least the side of good has a fighting chance," the man said with a nervous and almost sad look on his face as he turned back to look at Kate for a few seconds before he then disappeared around the corner, leaving Kate to ponder his words in silence.  

END OF CHAPTER 6


	7. HealingThe Challenge Is Put Forth

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 7-HEALING-THE CHALLENGE IS PUT ****FORTH******

Faith had woken up three days later, still very stiff and feeling cold, a little startled to find herself wearing only her bra and panties.  Initially a great fear captivated her but when she rolled over her fears were put to rest as she saw Wesley lying there.  Even though she still felt ill she made sure that he was still alive.  She checked him all over for any injuries, grimacing sickly at the wounds from the zombies, before nestling up closer to Wesley and laying her head down on his chest, directly over his heart.  She took comfort in the slow and even beating of his heart.  In the end it served almost as a lullaby, and the next thing she knew it was morning.  This time when she awoke and looked up at Wesley's face her heart swelled when she saw him looking back at her with a very thankful and relieved look on his face.  

"Hey…," Faith mumbled sleepily with a smile on her face as she tightened her grip on Wesley.

"Hey yourself…," Wesley responded weakly as he brought a hand up and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"You sure know how to show a girl a good time," Faith choked out trying to sound all big and bad, but ended up sounding like a very small child.

"Well I try," Wesley replied softly before the two ended up laughing for the first time in days, finally stopping when Wesley pulled Faith up closer to him and silenced her with a kiss.    

"How about next time you forget the zombies," Faith mumbled softly before yawning widely and trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'll try and remember that…," Wesley started to say with a tired sigh before he was interrupted as Lorne walked into the room with a drink in his hand.

"Hey you two crazy kids…you're finally awake, how do you feel," Lorne asked with a hopeful look on his face before he took a drink.

"Like I've been run over by a bloody Fyarl demon…," Wesley mumbled loudly in response before Lorne began chuckling softly to himself.

"You look like it to you know," Lorne exclaimed with a joking smirk on his face before a smile spread across Faith's face, a precursor to the former rogue slayer bursting out laughing.  

"Very funny Lorne…but how did we survive, there were so many zombies and…," Wesley asked with a confused and tired frown on his face as he lazily began to draw small circles on the back of Faith's shoulder with his index finger.  

"Ten buck says it was Angel…," Faith mumbled softly with a small smile on her face as she laid her head back down on Wesley's chest and closed her eyes.

"You're right…but like usual he tried the tough guy routine and said that the zombie's venom wouldn't affect him…right before he passed out in the lobby," Lorne replied with a worried sigh and shrug of his shoulders before Faith's eyes shot open and she quickly lifted her head and gazed over at the empathy demon with a worried look on her face.  

"He's alright though…right," Faith asked quickly as there was a lot of not so well hidden worry in her voice.

"Angel-cakes will be fine, he just got a bigger dose of the venom then he thought he did, Connor and I got the antidote for him and he'll be up and brooding again in no time…Cordelia's with him now," Lorne answered with what he hoped was a calm look on his face as he held a hand up as if to tell Faith to calm down.

"Good…," Wesley and Faith chimed in together before the two suddenly drifted off back to sleep in each others arms.

"Now all we need is a few days of peace and quiet for you three to get back on your feet…," Lorne said softly with a hopeful look on his face before he took another drink and quietly slipped out of the room, leaving the two lovers to their dreams.

*                    *                     *                   *                 *                *                 *            *

When Angel came to he was happy to see Cordelia sitting in a chair next to his bed.  At the time she was fast asleep and as he was feeling better Angel decided to let her sleep.  Quietly he slipped out of bed and made his way out of the room and then head down the hall towards the stairs.  Still feeling a little woozy the stairs were an adventure; he was forced to lean heavily up against the wall to keep upright.  When he got to the bottom of the stairs he rested for a short time before he staggered over to the counter and flipped through the message, glad to find that Fred had left one saying that she and Gunn had gone to get groceries.  Right now he wanted to be alone, mostly so that he could process what had happened to him over the last few days and finish healing.  He was about to fall asleep right there, leaning on the counter, had his enhanced vampire hearing not alerted him to the fact that someone was coming.  From the sound of his voice Angel could tell that it was Lorne that was walking down the hall on the floor above.  Not ready to answer the hoard of questions that the empathy demon would undoubtedly have Angel made his way to the basement as quickly as he could, half stumbling down the stairs.  

*                                 *                               *                                   *                 *  

The next time she woke up she found a pile of women's clothes next to her bed with a small note on it that told her to feel free to use the shower and then change into the clothes.  She took a moment to filter through the pile of clothes.  While they weren't exactly designer clothes they did look to be about her size and would be a nice change from the outfit that she had on.  Yawning deeply she pulled herself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.  After a long hot shower she returned to the room and changed into the clothes, which she was glad to find had all been very recently washed.  After she had gotten dressed Kate went back to check on Oz and Groo.  She found Groo flopped onto his bed, snoring loud enough to wake the dead and Oz about ready to fall out of the bed.  

She thought for a few seconds about waking them up but her stomach growled and she decided to get something to eat first.  She searched through the house a bit before finally finding the kitchen.  Along the way she had stopped to look at some of the pictures and paintings that hung on the walls.  The paintings were all of nature scenes, with only a couple of them being of animals.  The pictures were all of what Kate guessed was the man's family.  A faint smile had crossed her lips as she looked at the pictures of what once had been a happy family.  A small tear escaped as she thought about the life that the man was now enduring without that family.  She had shaken those thoughts out of her head and continued on towards the kitchen.  

She entered the kitchen half expecting the man to be there.  But finding the kitchen empty she slowly made her way over to the refrigerator to see if there was anything to eat.  When she opened it she was surprised to see it almost overflowing with food, seemingly way to much for a single man.  Fishing around she found some eggs and set about making herself breakfast.

*                                      *                                  *                  *                               *

He still didn't know her name or anything else about her other than what she looked like and the sound of her voice.  Over the past two days she had been in to see him only twice, both times repeating her earlier statement that she swore to help him and that he should trust her.  She had used both trips in to see him to make sure as to exactly what he wanted her to tell Angel and even getting a few descriptions, mostly so that when she finally went to tell Angel she'd tell the right people.  He had grown ever weaker while his doppelganger had grown stronger.  Other than the young woman on whom he was placing all of his hopes Lindsey had been forced to talk to two people.  One of those had been his double; it mostly wanted a recharge, an act that made Lindsey feel like he was in a giant oven that was turned on high.  The other had been a man that Lindsey didn't recognize.  He had come in alone and after speaking a few arcane words he had turned and left as quickly as he had come.  Lindsey spent much of the time that he was alone hoping that the young woman wouldn't be caught and be able to get to Angel, allowing the vampire to at least attempt a rescue.  Those hopes were usually followed closely behind by the question in his mind about whether or not Angel would even believe the young woman, let along care enough to try and help him.  After the young woman's second visit Lindsey had tried to stay awake but the spell that was holding him surged and sent him back into the world of dreams.

*                                 *                                *                             *                             *

The next time Faith woke up she was initially terrified to find herself alone in the bed, with Wesley's side no longer warm.  Fearing that something bad had happened to him, or that her earlier awakening had only been a dream, she was about to leap out of bed when she heard the shower running from the bathroom.  Silently chiding herself for her initial fear Faith threw off the covers before climbing out of bed, shocked at how stiff her muscles had become in only three days.  She started to walk towards the bathroom but ended up having to limp slightly because of her stiff muscles.  As she entered the bathroom the blast of warm air hit her full force, along with a sound that she had come to instantly recognize, that of Wesley singing softly in the shower.  Stifling a short laugh she stripped off her bra and panties and looked at herself in the mirror.  With a finger she lightly traced the bite mark on her neck, grimacing slightly as she touched a tender spot.  As best she could she inspected the rest of her body to see where the rest of the bites were.  She lightly dabbed at a bite mark on her leg before she turned to her hair and wasn't happy about how greasy and dirty it was.

"Fuck…," Faith grumbled softly as she worked the grease and dirt from her hair in between her fingers, mixing it together into a sickly paste.

"Faith…is that you," Wesley asked hesitantly as he peeked around the edge of the curtain with shampoo in his hair.

"The one and only," Faith replied with a smile as she shut and locked the door behind her before she pushed aside the shower curtain and stepped into the shower in front of Wesley.  

"Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up but I had to take a shower to get all of the filth off…," Wesley began to say with an apologetic frown on his face as he started to rinse his hair out but was stopped when Faith pushed him back out of the spray and stepped into it herself.  "Hey…," he protested with a fake scowl of anger on his face as he play glared down at Faith, who only shrugged her shoulders with a sigh and went about letting the spray wash away the dirt and grime on her body.  

"Hey…you snooze you lose Wes…," Faith started to say with a joking smile on her face before she turned her face into the warm spray of water.

"Not this time," Wesley replied with his voice slightly raised before he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Faith, under her arms, and then began to lift her up.

"Wes…what the hell are you doing," Faith asked in a voice that lay in between anger and possible excitement as she tried to get Wesley to let go of her. 

"You want the bloody shower then you'll have to fight me for it," Wesley exclaimed with a daring smile on his face as he let Faith momentarily escape his grasp.

"Fair enough…," Faith said back with at first a serious frown on her face before a sexy smile spread across her face and she leapt into Wesley's arms before the two lost themselves in each other.

By the time Faith and Wesley got out of the shower it was a quarter past noon and they found that Lorne had left a note to them on their bed along with a fresh change of clothes.  Not really caring how the clothes got there they changed into them and then left the bedroom, intent on stretching their legs after three days of rest.  Quickly they discovered that the clothes that Lorne had brought for them had been the clothes that they had taken off right before they had come to the Hyperion and then went out with Angel.  They were only able to go a short distance before they ran into Fred.

"Wesley…Faith…you're awake," Fred said almost as if it were a question as she tried to force a smile up onto her face, but it was evident that it was a losing battle.

"Hey Fred…you okay," Faith asked with a slightly concerned frown on her face as she took a step forward and laid a hand on Fred's shoulder.

"Yeah…I'm fine…I just haven't gotten to much sleep the last few days…taking care of you two and Angel," Fred answered in between deep yawns as she reached a hand up and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.   

"Thank you for helping us Fred…," Wesley said back with a sincere smile on his face that seemed to, if only momentarily, lift Fred's spirits before he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"Yeah…what he said," Faith mumbled with the biggest smile that Fred had ever seen on Faith's face.

"Is Angel awake yet," Wesley asked with a slightly concerned look on his face as he let Fred go and looked back at Faith.  

"I don't know…Cordelia volunteered to stay with him, Gunn is out getting supplies, Connor's been gone all day, and Lorne…," Fred said with a frustrated sigh as she counted off on her fingers to make sure that she got everyone.  

"We know…played fashion consultant to the stars…but if you don't mind Wes and I are going to go for a walk…," Faith interjected with a pent-up look of frustration on her face, a look that Wesley knew all to well.

"No…go, you two need…oh wait Wesley, there's something that I need to talk to you about after you guys get back, it's about an amulet that Angel found when he went back to investigate the zombies after we left with you two," Fred started to say with a tired frown before she perked up and smiled with delight as she finished.  For as long as Faith had known her any small trinket or scroll that had ancient writing on it was enough to get the Texan into a tizzy to research.  

"An amulet…you know Faith, maybe we should…," Wesley started to say with an interested smirk on his face before he noticed the look on Faith's face that seemed to say, -Don't even think about it-.

"Get going on our walk before hell freezes over…," Faith finished for him as she grabbed Wesley's arm and pulled him along after her down the hall towards the stairs.

"You two have fun…and watch out for any zombies," Fred called out after the two lovers before they rounded the corner and disappeared.

*                                  *                                  *                                       *                    

He didn't remember falling asleep but when Angel awoke he found himself lying in the basement under the stairs.  He had been sleeping on his side with one hand placed directly underneath his hip, so when he tried to stand up he had to pause for a moment or two as he tried to work out the knot in his thigh.  Luckily for him no one seemed to have ventured down during his slumber.  He didn't know how long he had slept and the one main thought that ran through his head was how Cordelia had taken to waking up and finding him not lying in the bed.  He expected her to have immediately started worrying before sending Connor out through the sewers, never expecting that he was still so close.  With a tired grumble he wiped the sleep out of his eyes and began to trudge up the stairs.  When he had ascended to the lobby he was partially glad and partially sad that the large room was empty save him.  He started to head off towards the room that he had been in and where he guessed that Cordelia was when Faith and Wesley slowly walked down the stairs, deep in conversation.  

"Hey guys," Angel said loudly with a glad smile on his face as he began to walk across the lobby towards the stairs.  At first neither responded, but then Faith turned her head slightly his way and smile her usual half smile, the joy at his being alright as well easily visible.  

"Angel…," Faith said with a glad tone to her voice as she quickly walked across the lobby towards him and looked as if she were about ready to hug the soul possessing vampire when she stopped and finished her sentence, "you're okay."

"Looks that way…how about you…you guys okay…you looked pretty bad when…," Angel started to ask with a worried frown on his face before Wesley got the hint and jumped in.

"You know us Angel, a good meal and a good shag and we're just dandy," Wesley said with a tired but happy smirk on his face as he caught the sexy stare that Faith was giving him.  

"Uh…yeah…exactly…anyway I just thought that you two should know that attack by the zombies was no freak accident…it was more like a trap," Angel added with a grim look of doom on his face as he stared at the floor before Faith spoke up.

"Great, just what we needed…so any idea who's behind it all," Faith asked with a growing look of unhappiness on her face as she looked back and forth between Wesley and Angel.

"I'll give you three guesses…and they're all Wolfram and Hart…and more importantly Lindsey McDonald, with him back I should have known that something like this was going to happen…I just didn't expect it so soon…," Angel growled angrily as he clenched his hands into fists at his sides and stared at the floor.  Faith was about to ask another question when the trio turned at the sound of the front doors opening.  A young brown haired woman walked slowly into the lobby, looking as if she were on a hair trigger.  The young woman reminded Angel instantly of Cordelia, although the young scared woman in front of him looked to be more athletic than Cordelia.  

"Is…is this Angel Investigations…," the woman asked timidly with a look on her face that made Faith half expect her to bolt back out of the hotel without uttering another word.

"Guilty as charged…what can we do for you," Angel replied with his kindest salesman smile as he brushed his hands off on the front of his jeans before he reached up and shook the young woman's hand.

"I'm supposed to give a message to a man named Angel…are you him," the woman inquired, still with a very nervous look on her face and in her eye as she looked back and forth between Angel and the two lovers.

"That's what they tell me…yes…my name is Angel…what's the message," Angel started to say with a small laugh before he noticed that he was laughing alone and he replaced the smirk on his face with a serious look.

"It's a message from a man named Lindsey McDonald…he needs your help," the young woman mumbled softly, looking around the room as if she expected someone or something to suddenly appear out of thin air and attack her.  

"That fucker...after what he pulled, why should we help him," Faith exclaimed angrily as she glared at the young woman and averted the glare that Angel was giving her.

"No…you don't understand…," the young woman said back with an impatient and scared scowl on her face as she nervously ran a hand through her hair and turned slightly back towards the front doors.  

"We understand…Lindsey sent you here to lure us into a trap…well you can go back and tell him that…," Wesley started to say with a very confident frown on his face as he crossed his arms and looked back at Angel before the young woman interrupted him.

"No…you're wrong, the Lindsey McDonald that you met wasn't the real one…please you must believe me, the Lindsey that you met was only a magical creature that only looked like Lindsey, the real Lindsey is being held prisoner in a secret room in Wolfram and Hart," the young woman said pleadingly as she took a large step towards Angel, momentarily forgetting her initial fear.  

"Okay…let's say that we believe you…why would you come to us," Angel asked with a very unimpressed scowl on his face as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Because he told me to…please you must help him…they cast a spell on him to get everything right…it's killing him…the real him," the young woman replied with a very worried look on her face as she walked over and sat down on the circular sofa in the center of the lobby.  

"What do you think Angel…it's your call," Faith asked with an unsure frown on her face as she turned back to Angel, the questioning look in her eye mirroring that of Wesley's.

"Guess it couldn't hurt to check it out…I doubt that they'd be stupid enough to think that I wouldn't expect this to be a trap…but if there's even the slightest chance that she's telling the truth then I have to go…," Angel answered slowly and thoughtfully as he began to slowly pace around the room, deep in thought.

"So when do we leave," Wesley interjected with a tired look on his face as he nervously reached a hand up and scratched his chin.

"We…we don't leave…you two haven't recovered enough yet…," Angel exclaimed with a very serious look on his face as he locked eyes first with Faith and then with Wesley.  

"So when has that ever stopped us…we going or not," Faith shot back with a very determined look on her face and her hands on crossed in front of her.  Angel and Wesley both knew that when Faith got like this it was no use arguing with her.  It was better to simply answer her question and go from there, no matter what price that they would be made to pay later on.  

"Why are you helping him like this…most of the employees at Wolfram and Hart would sell their own mother to get ahead…," Angel asked with furrowed brows as he turned back to the young woman sitting quietly on the couch.

"Because I'm not like them…I don't want to work there anymore…and what they're doing to him isn't right…," the young woman responded with a determined frown on her face as she looked up at Angel.

"Angel…," Wesley stated blankly as he ruffled up his hair a bit with one hand and slid the other into his pocket, absentmindedly fishing around for his keys.  

"I just know I'm going to regret this…we go…," Angel started to say with a sarcastic look on his face and tone to his voice as he shook his head before he turned around and came face to face with a very angry Cordelia Chase.

END OF CHAPTER 7


	8. Ouch! And Overdoing It

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 8-OUCH! AND OVERDOING IT**

Angel was about to ask Cordelia why she looked so angry when she reached her hand back and slapped him hard across the face.  Angel had been slapped before, thousands of times in fact, but Cordelia slapped him so hard that his ears rang.  Behind him Wesley tried to say something but all he could get out was the beginnings of certain words that would usually form a question.  Faith on the other hand started to take an angry step forward but stopped when a wave of nausea swept over her.  She swayed for a bit before she closed her eyes and leaned up against Wesley, thankful that he put a supportive arm around her and held her up.  Thousands of questions flew through Angel's mind as he nervously rubbed his stinging cheek.  He finally picked what he thought was the simplest and most straightforward one and asked it.  

"Ow…Cordy, what was that for…," Angel exclaimed with a sad and hurt frown on his face as he rubbed his cheek, that for the first time in over two and a half centuries was momentarily filled with color.  

"Why didn't you wake me up…I was worried sick about you…and now you're thinking about helping Lindsey…in your condition…not to mention dragging along the gruesome twosome along for the ride," Cordelia replied, her face flush with color, as she appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"Yep…no doubt about it…Queen C is back…," Faith mumbled with a giggle before the lobby began to spin and she was forced to cling to Wesley for dear life.

"Right on time to…," Wesley said through a chuckle before the room began to spin for him to, forcing him to stagger back towards the round couch and pull Faith down beside him.  All of a sudden it had become quite warm in the room and he discovered that he and Faith were sweating heavily.

"Guess we must have overdone it…," Faith mumbled sadly as she wiped some sweat off of her brow, the two lovers completely ignoring Cordelia and Angel's conversation that had continued without them.  

"You needed…you still need your rest Cordelia, I thought it best not to wake you," Angel said with a hopeful frown on his face as he hoped that Cordelia would believe him and calm down.  

"It best…Angel you collapsed…normal people collapse all the time…but two hundred and fifty year old nigh immortal vampires aren't supposed to," Cordelia answered, the anger and worry clearly evident in her eyes, as she poked a nervous finger into the middle of Angel's chest.  

"So the venom affected me more than I thought it would…I was wrong…happy," Angel replied with a less than pleasant tone of voice that he instantly regretted as the look of anger on Cordelia's face made him expect to be slapped again.  For a moment Cordelia looked as if she would in fact slap him, but then a few more tears slid down her face and Angel instantly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest.  "I'm fine Cordy…really…," Angel mumbled softly, just to Cordelia, before he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.  

"Just don't scare me like that again…okay," Cordelia stuttered out through her tears as she lifted her head up and locked gazes with a startled but concerned Angel.

"Okay…," Angel answered with as reassuring a look on his face as he could muster at that moment as he tried to bolster Cordelia's spirits.

"He's lying Cor…you know that right…no matter what he says ole sour pants over there will always be getting into things that are way over his head…it's what he does best…besides brooding that is," Faith called out from her spot on the couch with at first a serious frown on her face that soon changed to a slightly out of it smile at the end.  Before Angel or Cordelia could respond Faith began laughing softly, with Wesley joining in shortly.  

"What's so funny….huh….Angel-cakes, you're awake….why didn't you say something," Lorne interjected with an amused and joyous smile on his face as he walked down the stairs, smoothing out a crease in his suit as he went.  

"Because I…," Angel started to say with a tired sigh before Cordelia placed a hand over his mouth with a very serious frown on her face.

"Because he thought himself indestructible again and tried to slip out while no one was looking…oh yeah…and he promises to never do it again," Cordelia said with a very determined look on her face as she held her hand over Angel's mouth.  She finished with a big grin on her face, one that Angel quickly matched.  

"Can we please get back to the…task at hand…are we going to help the young woman save Lindsey or not…," Wesley started to say as he slowly began to stand up before his knees wobbled a bit and a worried Faith pulled him back down beside her.  

"Uh not to be the little demon that cried wolf but…what young woman…," Lorne asked with a hesitant smirk on his face as he looked around the lobby and saw no one other than his friends.  

"The one that was standing right…wait where'd she go," Angel said with a small smile on his face as he turned around only to see that indeed the young woman had disappeared.  

"She ran out while you and Cordelia were whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears…," Faith replied with a devilish smirk on her face as she ignored the glare that Cordelia aimed her way.  

"Can't say that I blame her…the sight of the mighty Angelus nearly coming to tears would be too much for even me…," Wesley added with an equally devilish smirk on his face as Angel quickly realized that Wesley and Faith had gotten in synch again.  Ever since the night of the party there had been times in which Wesley or Faith would start off with either an insult or an observation, neither of which was ever meant to be hurtful, and almost instantly the other would pick up where the other left off and keep going.  More than once Angel had been forced to yell at the two lovers to get them to stop.  In those cases they'd just smirk and wait for another opportunity.

"Would you two…," Cordelia started to growl angrily before Lorne cut in with a slightly fearful frown on his face.

"Whoa now…none of you are in any condition to take this argument any further…so what's the word big guy…we going to help the mysterious disappearing woman…," Lorne asked softly as Cordelia glared a hole through him and Angel just shook his head.

"Yeah…we are, but I've changed my mind about who's going…Lorne, get Fred and Gunn and take them with you…check things out, the rest of us will come after we've had some more rest," Angel replied with a tired frown on his face as Wesley and Faith nodded their approval.

"What about me," Connor asked with a concerned look on his face as he walked into the lobby and regarded Angel and Cordelia, who were still in each other's arms, with a calm look.

"Connor…you'd better go with them, in case this is a trap…they could use the backup," Angel added with a very serious look on his face as he looked back at his son.  Instead of getting angry at being told what to do Connor seemed genuinely pleased and excited at getting asked to go with Lorne and the others.  In fact he was so pleased that he was almost out the door before he remembered that he hadn't gotten a weapon.  

"Uh Connor…you might want a sword…unless you're going to use your father's approach and just use your fists…and various other body parts…," Cordelia quipped with an amused smirk on her face as she looked back and forth between Angel and Connor.

"Hey…fists work…," Angel muttered with a fake look of dejection on his face as he hung his head before Cordelia started laughing.  The laugh was one that neither Angel nor Connor had heard in a long time.  It was a truly happy laugh that they had missed so much hearing from Cordelia.  

"You'd better watch it Lorne…broody pants over there is on fire with the one liners…," Faith added with a joking smile on her face before she turned to Wesley.

"Although I'm not sure if he could stand the criticisms about his hair…," Wesley said with an equally amused smile on his face before Angel brought a hand up and ran it slowly through his hair before answering.

"What's wrong with my hair…," Angel started to say with a hurt and confused look on his face before he cleared his head and continued, "Enough of that for now…you guys had better get going, if you're lucky maybe you can find that young woman that told us about Lindsey in the first place…possibly get some more information."

"What are we supposed to do…I guess taking a walk is out of the question," Faith asked tiredly as she slowly stood up, followed closely behind by Wesley.  

"Stay here and rest, that zombie venom really did a number on you two, it'll probably be a few more days before you're ready to do any work," Angel replied with a serious frown on his face as he took his arms from around Cordelia and jammed his hands into his pockets.  

"You look pretty bad yourself Angel, maybe you should take your own advice and get some rest to," Wesley said softly, suddenly sounding like an old country doctor, as he nodded his head and looked over at Angel.  

"Truer words were never spoken Wes…," Cordelia added with a very kind but determined frown on her face as she looped her arm around Angel's and began to drag him bad towards his room.  

"Let's go Wes…the nice warm bed is calling…and we need to finish what we started in the shower," Faith mumbled tiredly as she winked at Wesley before the two slowly made their way back up the stairs.

*                     *                   *                   *                   *                    *                       *

Oz and Groo had slept several more hours before they had stumbled into the kitchen and made themselves something to eat after Kate had filled them in a little bit on what she had found out.  The three barely talked other than to wonder where they were and what their next move should be.  Oz wanted to return to Sunnydale and get Willow's help while Groo wanted to immediately rush to Los Angeles to check on Cordelia.  Kate wasn't sure what she wanted to do so she just sat back and listened to the two talk their hearts out.  They spent the better part of that day talking and watching television, trying to determine how long they had been locked up and what they had missed.  They were shocked to learn that they had been out of the loop for months.  Groo didn't have any family to speak of so he doubted that too many people would have noticed his absence other than those that he had protected.  Oz didn't even want to think about what he had missed so he left the kitchen to look around the house.  Kate thought about placing a call to her friends, thinking that they must have been worried sick about, but stopped abruptly when the thought occurred to her that the phone might be tapped. 

"Miss Kate…," Groo started to say with a concerned frown on his face as he entered the living room before Kate sighed and interrupted.

"Don't call me that…it's just Kate…," Kate said with a tired frown on her face as she sat down into the cleanest easy chair.

"Okay…Kate, do you trust the man that brought us here and whose food we have been eating," Groo asked calmly as he walked across the room and changed the channel.  Kate thought for a few moments before answering.

"Even though I probably shouldn't I guess I do…there's something about him that…I don't know…he just seems harmless and like he genuinely wants to help us," Kate answered, deep in thought, as she observed the current state of her fingernails.  

"If you trust him then I do as well…," Groo said slowly as he nodded his head and sat down in front of the television.

"You know you're not supposed to sit that close to the…aw forget it," Kate started to say with an almost motherly tone to her voice before she stopped suddenly and just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.  Groo watched the images flash across the screen for a few moments before he turned back slightly and asked a question that he had been wondering about for some time.

"How do you know the champion Angel and my princess Cordelia," Groo asked with a wondering but also slightly scared look on his face as he half expected Kate to yell at him for even asking.  Instead she simply smiled kindly and leaned back in her chair before responding.

"Guess I can't be a bitch all the time…how do I know Angel and Cordelia…well when I was still a cop Angel used to help me with a case every now and then, the really quirky ones that wouldn't have gotten solved without him…I didn't really know Cordelia very much," Kate replied with a calm almost nostalgic look on her face before Oz came back into the room with a worried frown on his face. 

"We can't stay here…we have to find Angel and warn him…," Oz stated slowly and clearly as he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.  

"And just how pray tell are we supposed to do that, we don't even know where we are…," Kate asked with an unconvinced scowl on her face as she crossed her arms and looked over at Oz.  

"You said the guy that brought us here and is helping us out works for the L.A. branch of Wolfram and Hart right…okay well then it's reasonable to assume that we're close to L.A.," Oz answered with a thoughtful look on his face as he tied the pair of shoes that he had found sitting beside his bed.

"And once we're in L.A. we find Angel and sort all of this out," Kate added with a growing look of hope on her face as she smiled before standing up and looking down at Groo.  

"Then we should get going…," Groo interjected with a very serious scowl on his face as he stood up and pointed at the screen. On it was a news report about the police looking for three murder suspects who the crawler at the bottom of the screen said were armed and extremely dangerous.  Except instead of hardened killers on the screen the three images were of Kate, Oz, and Groo.

*                        *                        *                       *                     *                  *                *

He didn't know how long he had been out; only that it had been awhile.  He didn't know if she had been back to see him but he hoped that she hadn't.  He had always tried to make sure to be awake when she visited him, no matter how painful or tiring it was on him.  After she had sworn to him that she wouldn't let him down he hadn't seen her and had begun to get worried.  But just as he was about to pass out again she slipped into the room and waited for a few minutes so that she was the only other person in the room with him.  She looked both excited and worried, as if she were unsure of the outcome of her mission.  He tried his best to show her that he was happy to see her but all he could muster was a tired smirk.  Even though the room was empty except for the two of them and the cloud keeping him going she looked all around as she crept closer to him.  

"I did it…I told Mr. Angel just like you told me to…he said that he'd help you," She whispered softly as she edged closer to him, making sure that he would be the only one that would hear her.

"Thank…you…," Lindsey managed to painfully whisper back before a small fit of coughing overtook him.  

"What do I do now…what's next…," She asked quietly as she tried her best to appear to be simply checking on his condition.  

"I…was kind of hoping that…I wouldn't have to…think of anything else…that Angel would take it…from there," Lindsey coughed out as softly as he could so that she alone could hear his words and understand them.  The last thing that he needed now was for one of the major employees at Wolfram and Hart to discover his plan of escape and set a trap for Angel, if he himself wasn't already one.

"Are you sure that he can do the job Mr. McDonald," She asked with a very worried frown on her face as she nervously shuffled her feet and looked away.

"Fortunately…for me, Angel always seemed to be…able to do whatever…he wanted…no matter the odds," Lindsey replied as for some reason he seemed to find himself a bit stronger than before.  

"Where are you going to go when you get out of here…the senior partners won't let you go very easily," She said with a concerned look on her face as she looks as if she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"I don't know…I'm kind of making this up…as I go along," Lindsey answered with an unsure frown on his face as he reluctantly agreed with what she was saying.

"I'd better get going or else they'll know that something's up…," She started to say very nervously as she let out a small laugh before she turned around and headed off towards the door.  She was almost at the door before Lindsey got up enough strength to speak again.

"Wait…you've helped me so much…and I don't…even know you're name…," Lindsey asked with a very tired sigh as he swallowed hard and hoped that the young woman had heard him.  For a few agonizing seconds it seemed like she hadn't.  But then she slowly turned around and nervously walked back towards him.  She leaned in closely and gave him a soft and silky kiss on the cheek before she smiled as she answered.

"It's Elaine…my name is Elaine…," Elaine whispered sweetly as a kind smile spread itself across her face before she straightened up and left the room, leaving behind a weakly grinning Lindsey to repeat his angel's name over and over again in his mind.

*                    *                    *                   *                 *                 *                *                *

After getting the okay from Angel Gunn had led his small group through the city and straight towards the offices of Wolfram and Hart.  About a block away they had parked Gunn's truck and hit the sewers, hoping to be able to get close enough to the building to maybe get lucky and find a few answers.  Lorne had refused to enter the sewers and ended up making a vain attempt to simply walk in the front door and see what he could pick up.  He had been almost instantly turned away at the front desk.  Discouraged he was about to sulk back out the front doors when a beautiful young woman walked by him humming a nervous tune, stopping him in his tracks.  It wasn't her beauty that stopped him; instead it was the reading that he got off of her.  One that showed him the current, and possible future predicament of one Lindsey McDonald.  

"Oh miss…can we talk," Lorne asked softly in his kindest voice and with his most sincere smile as he headed off after the young woman.  

END OF CHAPTER 8


	9. To Tired, Plans, And Surprises

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 9-TO TIRED, PLANS, AND SURPRISES**

Despite their current state of lethargy Faith and Wesley took little time to make it back up the stairs and to their room.  They slipped into their room without a sound, with Wesley shutting and locking the door behind them.  Faith staggered slowly over to the bed before flopping down onto it with a sigh.  Wesley smiled as he followed after her, stopping only momentarily so that he could swing around to the other side of the bed and position himself so that when he flopped down onto the bed he could be directly opposite Faith.  With a tired sigh the two lovers turned their heads to face each other.  

"Right back where we started huh…god we're pathetic…," Faith asked with a tired smile on her face before she yawned deeply.

"Guess we'll have to find something to do…sleeping sounds good," Wesley whispered back softly before Faith's yawn became contagious.  Wesley tried to smile again but stopped when he saw the pout on Faith's face.

"Do we have to…there are other things that we could be doing…that are a whole hell of a lot more fun than sleep," Faith whispered back with an excited smirk on her face as Wesley rolled over onto his side.  He gazed at Faith tiredly for a few seconds before responding.

"I bet…but we really should get some sleep at the moment…you know as well as I do that the shi…uh….is going to hit the fan pretty soon…if it hasn't already…and Angel will need us well rested…," Wesley said with a sadly disappointed frown on his face as he reached up and lightly brushed the back of his hand against Faith's cheek.  

"Yeah…guess you're right…besides I doubt we've seen the last of those zombies…and I want to be ready when we get a shot at some payback…I swear I'm going to go all Claire Redfield on their asses," Faith replied with a reluctant look of acceptance at first before at the end her look changed to one that Wesley knew very well.  It was her I can't wait to beat the shit out of something look.  He almost always saw it when Faith was getting ready for a fight that she knew was coming.

"Unfortunately I agree, we'll see the zombies again…but this time we need to be better…prepared…," Wesley said slowly as he struggled to keep his eyes open and yawned deeply.

"Don't worry Wes…we will be…we will be," Faith whispered back with a tired smile on her face before she and Wesley curled up against each other, with Faith wrapped in his arms.  It took only seconds before the two were sound asleep.

*                       *                      *                      *                         *                  *                 *

"So let me get this straight…the Lindsey that made with the smug remarks…wasn't the real one, and the real one is being held in Wolfram and Hart…god this sounds like a crazy afternoon special," Cordelia moaned sadly as she shook her head and stared at the newspaper in front of her.  

"Yeah Cordy...it's something like that…but what I can't figure out is why, why make the double, why keep the real Lindsey when the double is finished, why not just kill him and do away with the evidence," Angel mused with a confused scowl on his face before he took a sip of blood.  After Wesley and Faith had left the lobby Angel and Cordelia had retreated back into Angel's office to discuss the young woman's visit.   Angel sat behind the desk, almost wholly consumed in the cup of blood that he was in the process of drinking while Cordelia busied herself with the newspaper.

"Maybe they didn't get it right…the clone has a flaw…it's missing something that only the real Lindsey has," Cordelia mumbled out softly as she was talking to Angel but trying to see the sale prices for the fresh fruit of a local grocery store.  

"I wonder what that could possibly be…his charming personality…," Angel joked out with a sarcastic smirk on his face as he briefly lifted his gaze to look at Cordelia's face.  After the party the two had slowly started to repair their relationship, or whatever it was that they were in.  Connor had been angry at first but over time he had actually started to go out on his own.  More than once father and son had the centuries old fruitless discussion of how they couldn't figure women out, Angel with Cordelia and Connor with women in general.  

"Real funny Angel…," Cordelia playfully shot back with a humorous smirk on her face as she reached across the desk and lightly patted Angel on the shoulder.  

"Look Cordy…I know that you don't agree with me sending Gunn and the others to check out the woman's story, but if it's true then it's my duty as a champion to rescue Lindsey, no matter how many times he's tried to kill us in the past," Angel replied with an ever increasingly serious frown on his face as he thought back over the history between Lindsey and the gang at Angel Investigations.  

"Do you think it's a trap…that they're waiting behind a trap door for Connor or one of the others to turn their back before they pounce," Cordelia asked, the worry in her voice clearly evident, as she looked up from her horoscope and sought reassurance in Angel's gaze.  With a tired sigh Angel set his cup of blood down on the desk and stood up before walking around the desk and kneeling down beside Cordelia.  

"They know better than to do that Cordy…and Connor wasn't born yesterday…exactly, they can't sneak up on him and Gunn will play it safe and find out what we need to know…they'll be fine…," Angel said softly with a hopefully reassuring look on his face as he reached up and took one of Cordelia's hands in his.    

"Okay…but I just want to go on record as saying that I don't agree with this plan," Cordelia shot back slowly as she smiled softly and turned her attention away from the newspaper and to the soul possessing vampire kneeling beside her.  

"Duly noted," Angel whispered with a tired frown on his face as he lifted one hand up and brushed a few stray strands of hair off of Cordelia's face.  

"So what do we do while we wait for Connor and the others to get back," Cordelia asked with a sad pout on her face as she closed the newspaper and folded it back up.

"Talk about a few things that we've been putting off for far too long," Angel said with a suddenly serious frown on his face as he stood up and returned to his seat across the desk.  Cordelia eyed him with a confused look on he face for a few seconds before she realized what he had meant and averted her eyes and blushed.

*                      *                          *                           *                      *                          *

"Wait a minute…I'm not a murderer," Oz exclaimed in a panic as he looked back and forth between the television screen and Kate and Groo.

"Neither am I…the only deaths that I have caused have been in honorable combat…," Groo stated in confidence as he lightly pounded on his chest with a closed fist.

"Killing isn't very honorable…unless it's vampires or demons…then…," Kate said with at first an angry scowl on her face before her expression lightened as she saw the hurt pout on Groo's face.  

"We can't stay here and debate the honorability of killing…we have to find Angel, hopefully he can help us figure all of this out," Oz said with a hurried frown on his face as he continues to stare at the television screen. 

"Yes…we should go to him soon, he and my princess will be able to help us," Groo said with a slightly worried frown on his face as stared at the screen, still shocked at seeing his face there.

"Should we go now or wait until after dark…it might be better to wait," Kate said with a confused and slightly overwhelmed scowl on her face as she crossed her arms and looked up at Groo.

"Traversing the terrain between us and Angel would be easier under the cover of darkness," Groo said with a slight nod of his head as he turned to Kate, inwardly smiling at the appreciative look that she had on her face.  

"What if the guy that brought us here gets caught…and Wolfram and Hart find out where we are, they'll come looking for us long before the sun goes down," Oz asked with a worried frown on his face as he walked over and began to close all of the curtains in the room.

"I hadn't thought of that…I hope he's okay, seems like every time someone tries to help me…us…they either get hurt or killed," Kate replied with a readily evident touch of sadness in her voice as she turned her head and looked out into the kitchen.  Groo frowned sadly before he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder and tried to ease her worry.

"I do not believe that they will hurt him…yet, if they are like those that captured me they will follow him and wait until he leads them to us," Groo said with a concerned frown on his face before he smirked slightly at the sight of Kate's mood improving.  

"Then we should be ready to leave the second that he returns home…agreed," Kate said with a very determined frown on her face as she looked back and forth between Groo and Oz.

"Agreed," Oz and Groo said solemnly in unison before the two left the room to go and gather up the supplies that they would need, leaving a nervous Kate to sadly stare at the images on the television screen.

*                       *                  *                   *                     *                  *                       *

"Oh miss…," Lorne called out again as he hurried after the young woman that he had gotten the odd reading off of.  At first she seemed to have either not heard him or had decided to ignore him.  But when she got to the elevator she stepped inside and grabbed his arm and pulled him in beside her.

"You're the demon that works with Angel right…the one that can read people if they sing him a song…," Elaine asked with a pleading look in her eyes as she punched in the floor that she wanted to go to and then leaned back up against the far wall.

"That's me kitten…but how…," Lorne replied with his trademark showbiz smile as he clapped his hands together and tried to look as peaceful and non-threatening as he could. 

"People talk around here...especially when they don't see you," Elaine said solemnly as she pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear and stared at the floor sadly.

"Perk up there sourpuss…ole Angel-cakes sent us to get the lay of the land…check out if her story was true," Lorne said with a very chipper tone to his voice, not wanting to sound condescending.  

"He believed me…," Elaine whispered softly under her breath with an excited smile on her face before she noticed Lorne's red eyes on her.  "Is he here…to get Lindsey to," she asked with a restrained look of hope on her face as she lifted her head up level to Lorne's.

"Sorry…but tall, dark, and broody is still recovering from a run-in with an army of zombies…like I said we're just here to check things out…," Lorne answered sadly as he tried to keep Elaine feeling happy rather than have her get mad at him or sad at the situation.

"We…I only see you," Elaine asked pointedly as her demeanor had changed from the scared young woman that she had initially been to what she hoped appeared outwardly as someone that wasn't to be trifled with.

"Gunn and the others are taking a different route…but don't worry they'll do their best, maybe you should come with me so that we can talk somewhere that…well…isn't here," Lorne replied with a calm smile on his face before he frowned as he tried to think of somewhere else to go to have a quiet talk.

"We don't have time…today's my last day with Lindsey…tomorrow I start my new job…as a secretary for our new…immigration…division," Elaine said sadly as she looked as if she was on the verge of tears. 

"Don't worry…Angel's a champion, if he said that he'd help Lindsey then he'll help him, but if I were you I'd think about finding a new job, you could do a lot better than this place," Lorne said with a serious frown on his face as Elaine regarded him with a slightly confused but hopeful look on her face.  

"A new job…but…," Elaine started to say with an interested smile on her face before the elevator began to shake violently.  Just when Lorne was about to ask what was going on the doors were opened from the outside and a trio of angry looking guards stormed into the elevator.  As one of them grabbed for her arm Elaine acted fast and brought her right knee up and slammed it into the man's groin with a great amount of force.  As he dropped Elaine caught a glimpse of Lorne being overly macho and jumping onto the back of one of the men that was charging at her.  She was about to shout something to Lorne when the remaining guard locked his hand around her neck and started to squeeze.  "Ack…hey…I," Elaine gasped out as the man slowly began to tighten his grip on her neck.  

"Let go of her," A cold voice from outside of the elevator shouted before Elaine heard a loud thud, followed by the man releasing his grip on her and slumping to the floor.  She looked up to say thanks to Lorne but her words caught in her throat as she eyed the young man standing in front of her.  Before she knew what was going on the young man dispatched the other guard by slamming him head first into the side of the elevator until he fell to the floor unconscious.

"Who…who are you," Elaine asked quickly as she took an awkward step back, not knowing who to trust anymore.

"A friend…are you hurt," The young man asked with a concerned frown on his face just as a hurried Fred and Gunn came running around the corner.  

"I…I don't think so…," Elaine replied with a somewhat confused look on her face as she put a hand to her throat and felt what was most likely the beginnings of one nasty bruise.

"Sorry to break up this little powwow but we gotta go…," Gunn shouted with a bit of fear in his voice as he hopped into the elevator and pushed the guards back out along with the help of the young man.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome," Fred added with a frightened look on her face as she quickly ran into the elevator and turned to the control panel.

"Connor come on…," Gunn said with a very parent like tone to his voice as he grabbed the young man's arm and pulled him inside the elevator.

"Here we go…let's just hope they're not waiting for us in the lobby," Fred interjected fearfully as she punched the button for the lobby and watched with some relief as the doors slid shut and the elevator lurked back into action.

*                        *                         *                        *                     *                          *

Faith woke up first, thanks in a large part to her slayer healing, a good four hours later.  She now felt fully rested but decided against getting up and disturbing Wesley's slumber.  She relished the feeling of being held so tightly in his arms.  The first time she had felt it she had never wanted it to end.  And now every time she woke up wrapped in his loving arms it brought her back to that first time in his apartment.  Finally after she felt the need to use the restroom she cautiously slid out of his group and slid her legs out over the edge of the bed.  She was about to take the little jaunt into the bathroom but stopped abruptly and leaned back over the bed before placing a soft, chase kiss on Wesley's cheek.  With a content sigh she straightened back up and made her way towards the bathroom.  Minutes later as she was washing up she suddenly felt the muscles in her stomach tighten and bile rapidly rising up her throat.  With hurried movement she flung up the stool lid and barely got her head over the opening before throwing up.  The next thirty minutes solely alternated between throwing up and feeling very lousy.  Finally the sick feeling subsided and she finished washing up to find Wesley waking up, slowly stretching his tired muscles.

"You okay…," Wesley asked with a concerned look on his face as he peered at her with one eye open and the other squinted shut at the light softly filtering into the room.

"Never better…," Faith lied with a tired smirk as she walked back over to the bed and sat down beside him.  Wesley regarded her intently, with a confused and slightly worried look on his face, for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders and sitting up.

"Well then let's say we try that eating something again…," Wesley suggested with a finally well rested smile on his face, the smile that Faith could never say no to.  

"I'm game if you are Wes…but no Mexican, that stuff gives you gas…," Faith replied with her usual sarcastic smile before she started to stand up.  

"Must be the beans…," Wesley chuckled to himself as he pulled a smiling Faith back down on top of him.  Faith was about to voice her opposition when he silenced her with a kiss.

"You know…now that you mention it staying here is sounding a whole hell of a lot better," Faith whispered softly with an excited smirk on her face before she and Wesley laughed in between their kisses.

*                       *                      *                      *                      *                    *               *

Luckily for the group the only opposition that they face upon reaching the lobby was another trio of guards.  They quickly fell prey to a nervous and angry Connor.  On the way out of the building one of Elaine's high heels broke and she resorted to flinging the other shoe at an approaching guard before following Gunn and Fred out of the building.  Gunn hopped over the driver side door and was in the process of turning the key when Fred slid over her door and Connor dove into the back seat.  Like a gentleman Lorne made sure that Elaine was seated before he hopped in beside her.  With everyone in Gunn revved the engine and tore out of the parking lot, not noticing the lone figuring smiling out his window from a floor many stories up.  He also didn't hear that person's ominous mutterings.  "Right on schedule."

END OF CHAPTER 9


	10. Plans, And Hey Don't I Know You

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 10-PLANS, AND HEY DON'T I KNOW YOU**

Angel and Cordelia were in the middle of the slow process of cleaning the weapons, mostly just to pass the time, when Gunn burst through the front doors.  Following closely behind Lorne seemed to be leading a young woman that Angel recognized as the woman that had asked for their help in the first place only to suddenly disappear.  Connor was next, pushing an overly nervous Fred in front of him.  No one spoke until everyone but Connor and Gunn were seated on the round couch in the middle of the lobby.  Angel was the first to voice his concerns.

"Everything go okay," Angel asked softly, with the full knowledge that his question was a rhetorical one at best, as he looked up from the sword that he was cleaning.

"No…everything did not go okay Angel-cakes…we were on our way out when those Wolfram and Hart goons tried to grab us," Lorne recanted sadly as he tried to straighten out his collar, frowning even more when he couldn't.

"They got what they deserved," Elaine mumbled triumphantly at first before looking almost ashamed that she had ever said anything.

"Hey girlfriend don't sell yourself short…you should have seen her Angel, one of them grabbed her neck and she let him have it…right in the old family jewels," Lorne exclaimed excitedly as he put a supportive arm around Elaine's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.  

"Lucky shot I bet," Cordelia mumbled with an unhappy frown on her face as she crossed her arms and tried her best to not let her displeasure show.  

"No…I know how to fight but…I just try never to use it on another human…but those goons pushed me to far…," Elaine said softly at first before her level of confidence grew along with the tone of her voice.  

"She sure showed them…you should have seen it Angel…that guard she clocked will be singing soprano for a good long while," Gunn added with a humorous tone to his voice before he couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the slightly pained look on Angel's face.  

"So what did you find out," Angel asked with a growing look of concern on his face as Cordelia stepped up beside him and leaned on his shoulder.  

"Well the Lindsey that we saw the night of the party isn't human…or at least that's what the word around Wolfram and Hart is…that he's some kind of magical creation or something," Gunn said with a nervous frown on his face as he slipped an arm around Fred's shoulders.

"Most likely a golem of some sort…," Wesley said with a deep in thought scowl on his face as he slowly descended the stairs with a tired looking Faith at his side.  At first Angel only gave the two a warm glance, glad that they finally seemed to have regained their strength.  But after catching the look on Faith's face, and how she seemed to be leaning on Wesley a bit more than would be expected Angel's concern grew.  

"Faith…are you okay," Angel asked with a worried look on his face as he walked up beside Wesley, who looked concerned as well, above looking like he could still use a couple of good nights of sleep.  

"Five by five," Faith answered with her usual trademark smile, before she walked away from Wesley and sat down beside Fred on the circular couch.  Angel truly wished that he could believe her but his enhanced senses told him otherwise.  From the time she came down the stairs beside Wesley Angel could hear that her heart rate had increased substantially and there seemed to be something off about her smell.  Through all the clamor in the room Angel thought he heard eight distinct heartbeats and one very soft one, but after seeing only eight people in the room he dismissed it as being an after affect of the zombies poison.  

"Not to sound stupid but…," Cordelia started to say with an embarrassed and unsure frown on her face as she looked back and forth between Wesley and Angel, both of whom seemed to be concentrating on Faith.

"A golem is a creature that's created by magic to serve a distinct purpose…if the spell is strong enough it can appear quite human…but golem's are never perfect and if one were to make a golem to resemble someone then that person would need to continuously drain the life-force from the mark," Wesley replied with a very grim scowl on his face as he kept his gaze sharply locked onto Faith, who seemed to not appreciate all of the attention that Angel and Wesley were giving her as she glared back at them.  

"That would explain why they would need the real Lindsey, if what we saw the night of the party was a golem then it'd need recharging," Fred added with a slightly excited smile on her face as she turned towards Elaine.

"So how does that help us…doesn't sound like it's much to go on," Connor asked with his usual look that combined contempt and anger as he turned away from the window and glanced back at Angel and Fred.

"It's a start…if we are dealing with a golem then all we have to do is find a way to cut the strings and it'll slowly fade away when it runs out of energy and can't get a recharge," Angel answered for Fred with a determined frown on his face as he turned back around to face Cordelia.

"Does this mean that we're all going back in there to pull the plug on this thing," Lorne groaned with a worried frown on his face before he shook his head and mumbled something softly to himself.

"Pretty much…but we're not all going…only Connor, Gunn, Wesley, and I are going," Angel said with a commanding tone to his voice as he picked his head up and used his body language and eye movements to tell Cordelia that there would be no way that he'd change his mind.

"But what about me…if you're going to help Lindsey then I should be there…I know the system," Elaine asked with a worried frown on her face as she stood up and approached Angel.

"You should stay here, after this afternoon they know that you're working with us and they'll expect you to come back with us, it'll be safer for you here…in fact you can help Cordelia and Fred take Faith to the hospital to get her checked out," Angel replied with an almost commanding tone to his voice as he lightly laid a hand on her shoulder, hoping not to scare her but to show that he was serious about helping Lindsey.

"Okay…but please help him," Elaine relented sadly as he shoulders sagged and Angel cringed slightly at the amount of love that he saw in her eyes before walked back into the office to discuss tactics with Wesley and the others.

*                      *                         *                        *                       *                         *

After the initial airing of the news broadcast painting them as murders Oz had remained at his post, sitting awkwardly in front of the television, checking all of the channels again and again. Groo and Kate had retreated to one of the back room's to talk about what they should do and pack up some things that they would need.  No matter how many times Oz changed the channel the outcome remained the same.  He kept watching the screen so that the trio could stay at least one small step ahead of any authorities that would come after them.  The alert about the trio had been followed with what the anchorman purported to be regular people, although Oz quickly became convinced that every interview had been planned out well in advance and was only being used to further the lie.  He was about to angrily shut the television off when he heard a car pull into the garage and the engine shut off.  

"Oh…you're up, good," The man said with a sigh of relief as he walked into the kitchen with arms full of groceries as he spotted Oz.

"How so," Oz asked with a concerned frown on his face as he stood up and cautiously approached the man.  

"Good because they haven't found you yet, I saw the news bulletin while I was at the supermarket and rushed right home, are you all okay," The man asked with a worried look on his face as he set the groceries down on the kitchen table.  

"Wait…okay first…who are you…and second, why are we being accused of murder," Oz replied with a confused and hurried frown on his face as he leaned forward slightly on the back of one of the chairs.  The man chuckled to himself softly before answering.

"Of course where are my manners…I know your names and you don't know mine…guess we'll just have to change that won't we…so let me introduce myself, my name is Arthur Burkle, but my friends all call me Arty," Arthur said with an embarrassed smile on his face as he turned back towards Oz and then bowed slightly.  "As for why you're being framed for murder…well just chalk it up to Wolfram and Hart not wanting to make their activities public, this way they can let the local authorities pick you three up before they storm in and grab you while you're being transported back to the station," Arthur added with a worried frown on his face as he scratched his chin and stared out of the window. 

"Well we're not going to be here much longer, as soon as the sun goes down we're out of here," Oz replied with a nervous sigh before he turned off the television.  

"Of course, just let me gather a few things and we'll be gone before they know what hit em," Arthur exclaimed with an excited grin on his face before he started to head out of the kitchen.

"Wait a minute…what are you saying, you're not going with us," Oz stated with a confused and hurried frown on his face as he moved to block Arthur's route out of the kitchen.  Arthur looked like he was going to yell something angrily for a second before he sighed and let out a small laugh.

"Whatever you say kid…but this neighborhood is pretty close and I have very nosey neighbors, if they catch one glimpse of the three of you in my car without me then they'll call the police and you won't get more than a few miles before you're caught, besides I want to see my niece Winifred," Arthur replied with a tired smile on his face before he ducked past a bewildered Oz and headed for his bedroom.

*                             *                             *                          *                        *                *

He didn't know exactly what had happened, but from how the two women that were currently taking care of him were talking it up it must have been something big.  The two didn't seem to care whether or not he heard them talking.  From their conversation he was able to gather that the young woman that had been helping him, Elaine, had apparently done something wrong.  But when security had been dispatched to accompany her to someone in charge she had attacked them, along with a group of trespassers that sounded awfully familiar, before fleeing the scene.  His heart skipped a beat as he heard how angry the senior partners had become over this breach of security and what it would mean for Elaine.  If he had been able to do more than simply lay there and try not to die he would have given his all to help her and those that had helped her.  As he tried to stay conscious all of his hopes rested in the belief that Elaine's contact with Angel had been made and the vampire with a soul had agreed to help.  Because of the events that he overhead he knew that if there was going to be a rescue attempt made then it had to be soon.  On that note he let himself slip back into unconsciousness so that he could conserve his strength and wait for the time of his liberation.

*                       *                          *                           *                       *                         *

"This is stupid I'm fine…I probably just have a little cold," Faith moaned from the backseat of Angel's car as Cordelia pulled the vehicle away from the Hyperion.  Elaine had taken shotgun and Fred had agreed to sit in back with Faith.  From the window Wesley had watched them go sadly before returning to help Angel plan their mission for that night.  

"Right…and that's why you look like you could almost pass for one of those zombies that attacked you," Fred interjected with a sheepish look of determination on her face.

"My stomach's just been off the last few days that's all…," Faith added weakly before she turned her gaze away from a concerned Fred and stared out towards the street signs as they flew by.

"So that's why Wes and Angel are worried out of their minds about you…all over a stomachache," Cordelia interjected from the front seat with an unconvinced frown on her face before she pulled on her favorite pair of sunglasses.  Faith started to growl something back angrily but then stopped abruptly when she remembered how worried Angel and especially Wesley had been about her.  Because of that her only response was an incoherent mumbling followed by a determination that she'd find out what was wrong with her and then be back to help Angel and Wesley in no time.

"Are you sure that Angel and the others can rescue Lindsey, Wolfram and Hart is like Fort Knox…the security will be everywhere after what happened this afternoon," Elaine asked, changing the subject, while nervously tapping her fingers on the door.  

"Angel said he'd help rescue your boyfriend so he will…and with Wes helping him they can't lose," Faith mumbled angrily from her seat as she glared at Elaine before Fred jumped in to try and break the tension.  

"She's right Elaine, Angel knows how to get around Wolfram and Hart without anyone seeing him…he's done it like a thousand times before, Connor's just like him, and Wesley and Charles don't do anything halfway, if it's possible to get Lindsey out then they will, you just have to have faith…," Fred said with a nervous frown on her face before she blushed nervously at the end as Faith shot her a confused glance.  

"Listen Elaine…I'll bet you that by the time we get back to the Hyperion after getting grumpy back there checked out they'll already be back with Lindsey in tow," Cordelia said with a tempered tone of optimism in her voice that she hoped the others would pick up on and further.

"I hope so…I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him and I could have prevented it somehow," Elaine mumbled sadly before running a hand nervously through her hair and staring at her knees.

"Well you can't help him right now so just stop worrying so much…it's annoying," Faith said angrily before she rubbed her stomach a bit as she tried to keep from vomiting.  Luckily for her, and the interior of Angel's favorite car, her action worked and she was able to keep the bile down.  

"I wish that I could turn my emotions off and on as easily as you can but I'm sorry…I can't," Elaine shot back with an angry glare in her eye as she half turned back towards Faith, who would have throttled the young woman had Fred not jumped in.  

"Hey now…let's not fight, that's the last thing that we should be doing," Fred said with as angry and serious a look on her face as she could muster as she held a hand up in between Elaine and Faith.  Faith looked as if she was going to argue the point for a bit but luckily just as she opened her mouth Cordelia pulled into the hospitals parking lot.  

"Oh look Faith we're here…guess you won't get to wring Elaine's neck after all," Cordelia said loudly as a thinly veiled threat to the formerly rogue slayer to calm down while she slammed on the breaks and shut the car off before either Faith or Elaine could utter a response.  

"Time to see what's wrong with you…," Fred said quickly as she nervously dragged Faith from the car and directed her towards the entrance.  

"I told you I'm fine…," Faith started to say with an angry scowl on her face before her stomach lurched and she threw up into one of the large bushes that lined the sidewalk to the front doors.

"I think we can rule out stopping for something to eat on the way home," Cordelia mumbled with completely grossed out frown on her face before she helped Fred usher Faith towards the hospital, with a reluctant and nervous Elaine following closely behind.

*                   *                   *                         *                        *                             *

"So how are we going to do this Angel…they're going to be expecting us," Gunn asked with a concerned look on his face as he ran his gaze over the various weapons that he could choose from the new weapons room.  

"Don't worry, I have my ways into the building, security will never see us," Angel answered with a grim frown on his face as he paced nervously around the lobby, running over possible scenarios in his head.  After sadly watching Faith and the others leave Wesley had resorted to making sure that the small group would go into Wolfram and Hart prepared.  He had filled a large bag with every conceivable potion or charm that they might need to both break the real Lindsey free and fight the magically created golem that was posing as him.  

"Great…more magic, that's all we need…," Connor scoffed and wrinkled up his nose at the sight of Wesley slipping a few scrolls in between a couple larger bottles of green liquid.  

"Yes Connor…more magic, if we're going to be able to rescue Lindsey and make it out of there alive then it won't be without the use of magic, no matter how many secret passages or hiding spots Angel knows in the building," Wesley replied with a forced look of calm on his face as he kept himself from glaring up at Connor.

"Besides…if this works we'll probably be carrying Lindsey out and in the need of a quick exit," Gunn added with a serious frown on his face before he picked up a newly finished sword off of the table in front of him and tested its weight.  

"A teleportation spell…of course," Wesley said in an excited whisper and almost a giant smirk on his face before he stood up and rushed back into the office to sift through the desk.  

"Why does he get all excited about magic…it never works like it's supposed to," Connor asked with a bored frown on his face as he leaned back up against the wall and began to loop a weapons belt through the loops of his jeans.  

"He was a watcher, they learn about magic from the time they're kids, it's almost in their blood, Wes knows more about magic than almost anyone I know, and we don't have time to call Giles or Willow," Angel replied with an impatient scowl on his face before he slipped a dagger into a pocket of his coat.  

"Got it…so are we ready," Wesley said at first triumphantly holding up a stained yellow parchment before he continued as he slipped it into the bag and latched it shut.

"As ready as we're ever going to be…," Angel answered grimly without looking at anyone as he grabbed a sword on the way out of the weapons room and headed for the nearest access to the sewers.

"Do we even have a plan yet," Connor asked with a slightly worried frown on his face as he hurried to follow Angel.

"I will by the time we get there…Gunn, you and Wesley drive over there and get everything set up so that when Connor and I arrive we can rescue Lindsey the moment the sun sets," Angel called out with a very serious look on his face before he and Connor descended into the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city.

"Well…what can I say but…into the mouth of madness we go…," Wesley said softly as he steadied himself for the battle to come and followed Gunn out of the Hyperion.  

END OF CHAPTER 10


	11. Friendly Conversations And Danger Ahead

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 11-FRIENDLY CONVERSATIONS AND DANGER AHEAD**

The drive to the offices of Wolfram and Hart was one done in almost complete silence, with the only sounds being that of the truck and a nervous cough from Wesley.  Gunn had thought about asking Wesley all kinds of questions about the various spells that the former watcher had brought with him but decided against it and kept his gaze lock on the road in front of him.  For his part Wesley tried his best to remember the layout of the Wolfram and Hart office building.  He began to postulate what the quickest and safest escape route out of the building would be while carrying most likely an unconscious Lindsey.  

"Hey English….you nervous," Gunn asked with a calm frown on his face as he waited for the traffic light in front of him to change to green.  

"A little…whatever happens tonight I just want all of us to make it out of there alive and get back to the Hyperion…," Wesley replied with a nervous smile before he shifted the position of the battle axe on his lap.  

"She'll be fine Wes…she's a fighter, and if worst comes to worst then I'll be here to help you put the crib together…," Gunn said with a slight snicker as he reached over and shook Wesley by the shoulder.

"The crib…what," Wesley asked with a perplexed frown on his face as he looked over at Gunn and leaned forward in his seat.

"If worst comes to worst…and Faith is pregnant, then you'll need help putting the crib together later on, those things can be murder," Gunn answered with a confident smirk on his face before he noticed that the light had changed and sped forward.

"How would you know about that…," Wesley inquired with a nervous look on his face as he shifted the location of the magic bags' strap on his shoulder.

"One of the guys that I used to run with got married and had a kid, I helped him put the crib together, it took us forever," Gunn started to reply before the look of shock on Wesley's face caused him to chuckle. 

"Well we're not to that point quite yet, but I'll remember that you offered…but just remember, you may very well come to regret it…," Wesley replied with a nervous look on his face before he and Gunn broke out into a short laugh.  

*                          *                          *                           *                   *                               *

Angel had taken the most direct route that he could remember through the sewers on his way to the offices of Wolfram and Hart.  Had Connor not been his son he would have been left far behind and out of luck.  Angel had been forced to stop several times because he had been going so fast that he didn't keep a good enough grip on his sword and he had to retrieve it after dropping it.  The two were only about to get through a short conversation on the way as neither father nor son really needed any clarification on what they would have to do in the coming rescue attempt.  Angel stopped to let Connor catch his breath at the nearest manhole to the Wolfram and Hart tower.

"Now all we have to do is wait for the sun to finish setting and we're in business," Angel said with a bored frown on his face as he leaned up against the wall and Connor matched his stance against the far wall.  

"Why are we rescuing this guy again…he doesn't seem to have been a friend of yours…," Connor asked with a slightly bewildered expression on his face leaned forward slightly.  

"Because it's what a champion does…rescue those that need rescuing…even if I don't like them very much," Angel replied with an unconvinced look on his face, appearing to be simply reciting the words from memory instead of actually believing in them.  

"Fine…then say we do rescue him, what then, the hotel won't be safe for him or us," Connor asked with a concerned look on his face as he took a step forward and stared up through the only hole in the manhole cover.  

"You're right, it'll be the first place that they look…," Angel mumbled in reply as he began to pace back and forth slowly, pondering different possible locations as he went.  Father and son spent the rest of the time before sunset in silence, both trying to come up with a place to put Lindsey that would be safe from the prying eyes and ears of Wolfram and Hart.  Connor was the first to speak after the sun slipped beneath the horizon.

"Okay the suns down, let's go," Connor said with a very serious frown on his face as he nodded his head before climbing the ladder and pushing the manhole cover off.  He was relieved to find the street bare.

"Connor wait…we can't go in until we meet up with Wesley and Gunn…oh," Angel said loudly before he popped his head above ground and saw the former watcher and Gunn walking towards them, weapons and bag of spell components in hand.

"Is everything ready," Wesley asked with a concerned look on his face as Gunn helped Angel put the manhole cover back in its place.

"We're as ready as we can be…," Angel answered softly before he stood up and dusted his hands off.  

"Then what are we standing around here for…all we have to do is break into a building that's got more security than Fort Knox, rescue a guy that they're keen on keeping locked up, and make it out alive…all in the space of a few hours…," Gunn added with a sarcastic frown on his face as he tested the weight of his axe.  

"It'll work out…I think…," Angel started to say with his usual stone serious look on his face before he gripped his sword tightly and started off towards the Wolfram and Hart plaza, with the others close behind.

*                      *                       *                            *                        *                              *

He awoke to find himself alone in the room, the machine that had been taking care of him for weeks had appeared to have stopped working.  And to his amazement he seemed to be lying on the floor up against one of the room's walls. Not knowing what exactly was going on but guessing that whatever it was couldn't possible be good he struggled to his feet, thankful that they didn't simply give way the moment that he put any weight on them.  Using the wall for support he staggered towards the place that he had weeks earlier guessed that the door would be.  With a nervous sigh of relief he could barely make out the shape of the door only a few feet away.  His level of trepidation rising as he went Lindsey slowly stumbled to the door and pushed it open.  His heart was nearly in his throat as the door slowly swung open and he took in the first images in the past few weeks that hadn't either been the confines of the room or the naked attendants charged with his care.  

As he slowly walked down the hallway he began to realize that he knew where he was.  He remembered this floor because he had toured it once with Lilah back in the old days when the two still got along.  He knew that it was most likely a trap but he didn't care, Lindsey saw possibly his only chance for freedom happening right in front of him and he was going to try to take full advantage of it.  In the back of his mind he hoped that he wouldn't be forced to go it alone, that Elaine had convinced Angel enough so that his onetime enemy would be trying to rescue him.  His legs started to give out just as he neared the first stairwell that he came to.  With what little strength remain him he ducked into the stairwell as a security detail rushed past.  

*                     *                          *                             *                   *                  *

"Would you please stop fidgeting Faith, it's driving me crazy…," Cordelia moaned with an annoyed frown on her face as she sat beside Faith in an examination room, waiting for the doctor to come back with the test results.

"Sorry if I'm disturbing you Cor…but you're not the one that just got poked and prodded like a piece of meat," Faith sniped back angrily as she glared down at Cordelia from her seat on the bed.

"Hey little miss rogue slayer, I've been through all of this before…," Cordelia shot back with a defiant glint in her eye as she crossed her arms and glared up at Faith.  Faith looked serious for a moment before failing to stifle a laugh.  "What…what's so funny…," Cordelia demanded angrily.

"You…pregnant, that's a laugh a minute," Faith exclaimed with a joking smile on her face as she shied away from Cordelia's glare.

"If only…no shortly after Doyle died and Wesley joined Angel and I at Angel Investigations I slept with this guy that was working with this demon…spreading his seed, I got bigger than a house…," Cordelia started to say at first with a flippant look on her face before her countenance became more serious as she went on.  

"Whoa…so what happened…," Faith asked softly after initially preparing one of her best sarcastic comments.  

"What do you think…Angel and Wesley figured it all out and saved the day…," Cordelia replied with a grateful smile on her face as she got a distant look in her eye.

"Yeah leave it to those two to save the day right at the last split second before the world ends…or you give birth to demon-spawn," Faith said with a certain frown on her face before a smile crept up onto her face.  

"You're right, now just remember when we get back you're not going to go after Angel and Wesley and the others, they can handle themselves," Cordelia said with an authoritative and commanding look on her face as a doctor came back into the room.

"Well Ms. Wyndam-Pryce I have your test results…so Ms. Chase if you'll please step outside for a moment…," The doctor said with a calm expression on his face as Cordelia politely started to stand up before Faith motioned weakly for her to stay.  "Oh…I didn't know that the two of you were…sorry…," The doctor added with a nervous frown on his face before he closed the door behind him.  A look of confusion passed across Cordelia's face before her eyes grew wide at the realization of what the doctor was implying.

"Oh no…we're not…she's my boyfriend's little sister…he doesn't even know she's here and…," Cordelia stammered out nervously as she sat back down and Faith loudly cleared her throat.

"So what the news…am I going to die…," Faith asked nervously, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer, as she clenched her hands into fists at her side.

"No…you're not going to die…on the contrary I should say that congratulations are in order…," The doctor answered with a short laugh before he smiled as he finished his response.

"Congratulations…what…," Faith asked softly, her fears growing exponentially by the second, as Cordelia furrowed her brows and swallowed hard.

"You're pregnant…," The doctor replied with a slowly growing look of concern on his face before Faith had to grab the sides of the bed to keep her from fainting in shock.

*                    *                      *                            *                          *                             *

Angel and Connor had stuck to the shadows and darkened hallways of the building while Gunn and Wesley took the more direct approach.  The unlikely pair used the cover of a full lobby to sneak onto an elevator that sped them halfway up the building.  Wesley did his best to try and camouflage his spell filled bag to look like a courier's bag while he followed Gunn's example and kept his weapon hidden behind his back, much like a little child would.

"Are you sure about this Wesley, what if they've already spotted us, we could be walking into a trap," Gunn asked, his fingers nervously flexing and un-flexing around the pommel of his axe.  

"Not exactly…but in this business when can anyone ever be sure about anything…," Wesley answered cryptically as he stared nervously at the floor counter above the elevator's doors.  

"I don't know…you and Faith look like a pretty sure thing…," Gunn added with the edges of his mouth curling up into the beginnings of a sly smile.  

"We do at that…," Wesley mumbled softly back with an equally sly smile on his face before the two went stone silent as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slowly slid open.

Wesley stepped out first, nervously slipping his axe down from behind his back to a better defensive position at his side.  Gunn followed closely behind, his own axe in plain sight.  Luckily the two had selected a floor that turned out to be vacant, at least at first.  Wesley nodded his head down the long hallway that lay in front of them and Gunn nodded his silent agreement before the two began to slowly creep down the hallway, weapons at ready.  They had gotten about halfway down the hallway before an eerily familiar sound wafted into Wesley's ears, causing him to stop very abruptly.

"What…what is it…," Gunn whispered harshly as he raised his axe in front of him and quickly glanced both ways down the long hallway.

"Zombies…a lot of them…and they're close…," Wesley loudly whispered back before the sound grew louder and at the far end of the hall Wesley and Gunn's level of nervousness only grew as they saw the staggering shadows on the wall.

Angel and Connor meanwhile had traveled much further up the building before they ran into the zombies.  But unlike Wesley and Gunn Angel and Connor were generally able to avoid the zombies.  For some unknown reason the zombies seemed to be confined to only a few floors in the middle of the building.  As they maneuvered through those floors Angel would take point and make sure that the path ahead was safe before he'd turn back and wave Connor forward.  With his previous fight with the zombies crying out firmly from the back of his mind Angel didn't want to get into that kind of fight again.  It was a fight that truly had been over before it had even begun, whether Angel liked to admit it or not. 

"Do you think Wesley and Gunn have met the zombies yet…," Connor whispered softly as he quickly rushed from one shadow to another to stand beside Angel, who was busy looking around the next corner.  

"I don't know…but we can't worry about that now…we have troubles of our own," Angel started to whisper back softly before he elevated his speech to its normal level as his and Connor's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of approaching zombies.

"Yes we do…but should we fight them…or continue on towards Lindsey…," Connor asked nervously as he drew his sword and held it up in front of him in a defensive posture.  

"Looks like we don't have a choice…," Angel replied with a nervous and frustrated scowl on his face as from around ever corner that Angel and Connor could see came one zombie after another, out for blood.

*                                *                        *                      *                        *                          *

At the same time that Angel and Connor climbed out of the sewer near the Wolfram and Hart tower Oz, Kate, and Groo had climbed into Arthur's car and the quartet took off towards Los Angeles.  They had packed what meager belongings they could before Oz called shotgun and slid into the front seat, smirking slyly at Kate as she sat down in the backseat beside Groo.  Arthur had kept true to his word and chose to use the side streets, hoping that if anyone was following them then they'd be able to lose them.  On the way Groo mostly kept quiet, trying to stay as low in his seat as he could.  Kate meanwhile only asked Groo a few questions, mostly asking as delicately and reserved as she could about his past.  Although her pride would almost never allow her to admit it, unless she was forced to, she found herself starting to care what happened to the muscle-bound hunk sitting beside her.  Oz went back and forth between trying to find out as much as he could from Arthur and listening as best he could without drawing attention to himself to Kate and Groo's whispered conversation.  

"Are we there yet…," Groo asked with a frustrated frown on his face as Arthur pulled the car onto an off ramp and began to apply the brakes.  

"Not yet…we've got about another hour or so before we get to Los Angeles, once there though the three of you are going to have to give me the directions on how to find your friends," Arthur replied with a nervous frown on his face as he kept his eyes on the road and away from Kate's concerned stare.

"That might be a little tricky…ya see the last time that I saw Angel and the others they were still in their old offices…I'm not sure exactly where…," Oz started to say sheepishly before Groo interrupted him.

"I know exactly where to go…even though I was only with Angel and my prin…Cordelia and the others for a short time I made it a point to memorize the location of their headquarters…," Groo started to say eagerly before as he got to Cordelia's name he glanced over at the slightly worried look on Kate's face and stopped himself from calling his former lover princess, for a part of him was beginning to believe that he had possibly found a new princess.  

*                       *                         *                     *                       *                          *

At a seat overlooking a large bank of video screens that showed the footage from every single security camera within the building sat a silent but grinning golem.  Around it were situated some of the various mercenaries that had been hired for this occasion, human and otherwise, along with the one responsible for the zombies.  Most of the human mercenaries seemed a little put off by their demon counterparts.  But the grinning golem could care less everything was going according to how it had expected it to.

"The hunt begins…now…and don't come back without their heads…," The golem Lindsey said with an arrogant sneer on its face as the mercenaries filed out of the room and headed off in search of Angel and the others.

END OF CHAPTER 11


	12. Coming To TermsAn Old Friend

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 12-COMING TO TERMS-AN OLD FRIEND**

It took Faith several nerve-wracking seconds to get her mind back in working order again.  After the doctor's announcement her body and mind had gone into a system wide emergency shutdown.  When she glanced down quickly Faith was shocked to see how white her knuckles had become and the fact that if she didn't let go of the sides of the bed within the next few seconds then she'd have quite the hospital bill on her hands.  She nervously let go of the side of the bed and ran her hands through her hair before they seemed to possess a mind of their own and they guided themselves to her stomach.  At her side Cordelia sat in a state of shock nearly as far along.  Cordelia snapped back to reality first and thanked the doctor before hurrying to usher him out of the room, using the excuse that the two needed some time alone to talk.

"Uh Faith…earth to Faith…," Cordy asked softly with a worried look on her face as she slowly crept back towards Faith, who seemed to be in a daze.  As Cordelia got closer she began to hear a faint sound.  Confused as to what it was she kept closer until she discovered that the sound was Faith softly whispering the diagnosis to herself.  

"What am I going to do…I'm a slayer I can't be pregnant…," Faith moaned with a worried frown on her face as she half glanced up at Cordelia before returning her focus to the tops of her shoes.  

"What does being a slayer have to do with being pregnant…Faith look at me…look at me…eyes up here…," Cordelia said with at first a slightly confused look on her face before her expression changed to a stern one as Faith looked up at her.  "That's better…it doesn't matter that you're the slayer Faith…you're still human…and last time I checked when human women sleep with human men getting pregnant was a distinct possibility," Cordelia added with a serious and somewhat somber look on her face as she pulled the chair closer to the bed.  

"Yeah but…what's Wes going to say…and Angel…," Faith asked with a worried but also slightly angry at the world scowl on her face as she rummaged around in her pocket for the pack of gum that she had put there earlier.  

"Wesley will be tickled pink…or whatever color the English turn when they're tickled…and the only thing that you have to worry about with Angel is that he doesn't buy every baby item from here to New York like he did with Connor," Cordelia replied with a look on her face that told Faith that the former cheerleader was confident in her words.  

"I wonder how they're doing right now…maybe I should call Wesley…," Faith asked with a deep in thought frown on her face as she slid off of the bed and looked at her profile in the full length mirror nearby.  

"Nah…those guys are probably already on their way back to the Hyperion…," Cordelia answered with the best look of hope on her face that she could manage even though there was a nagging little voice in the back of her head that scared the hell out of her with what it was saying.

*                      *                         *                              *                        *                             *

"Cut the head off right…," Gunn asked with a nervous scowl on his face as he and Wesley backed up against each other in the hope that the zombies wouldn't be able to catch them by surprise no matter which way they came from.  

"Yes…and don't hesitate to do it…even if you think that you recognize one of them…because they won't hesitate to kill you…," Wesley replied with an emotionless look on his face as he held his axe up in front of him, trying to quell the well of fear that was residing in the pit of his stomach.  

"Guess you're getting a chance for a little payback…," Gunn joked with an unconfident smirk on his face as the first zombie stumbled around the corner at the far end of the hall and spotted them.

"A cashier's check would have sufficed…," Wesley mumbled back before his attention was placed far ahead of him as at his end of the hallway the zombies had already rounded the corner and were lurching their way forward.  

Gunn started to say something in return but he stopped short as a door only a few feet in front of him flew open and a gaggle of zombies ambled out.  Not wanting to get overrun Gunn charged into the oncoming horde of zombies, hacking and slashing at anything that moved with his axe.  A few feet away Wesley took a very similar approach, although Wesley fought smart, only attacking certain zombies so that when it went down it'd take a few others with it and save him the effort.  Even though both Wesley and Gunn were good fighters there were just to many zombies and before long the two began to tire.  They ended up back to back again and breathing heavily, with the zombies closing in from all directions.

Angel and Connor had fared better in the early going of their fight with the zombies that lurched after them.  Angel had hacked into the first few zombies to come his way and ended up actually getting ahead of the onslaught for a few seconds before the sheer number of zombies pushed him back towards Connor.  For his part Connor had at first gotten himself into a bit of trouble as he had rolled under an arm and found himself surrounded by angry zombies.  Not letting his fear control him Connor attacked any zombie that came near him with almost a savage fury.  A few minutes later he had forced a way out of his predicament and was back fighting at his father's side.  As he continued to fight Angel swept his gaze all over the hallway and the surrounding area.  He tried desperately to find a way out of the fight before he and Connor were overrun and killed. Finally looking up Angel took a chance on a wild hair and jumped straight up into the ceiling, knocking aside the lightweight panel and hoisting himself up and out of the fight.  Going more on instinct than anything else Angel yelled down to Connor to follow him up into the ceiling.  Connor looked up with a puzzled expression on his face at first before he decapitated one final zombie and followed Angel's example and leapt up into the ceiling and away from the murderous zombies.

*                        *                     *                                  *                   *                       *

Even though he had only gone down a few flights of stairs Lindsey now found himself to be almost completely out of breath.  Sweat ran in rivers down his back and forehead, stinging his eyes and causing him to stop every few steps to try and catch his breath.  He was glad that he hadn't met up with anymore security patrols but his paranoia about how easy his escape had been had only continuously built upon itself.  He finally went as far as he thought he could before he decided to try to figure out which floor he was on.  He painfully made his way over to the door before opening it just a crack and instantly shutting and locking it as he caught sight of the zombies milling about just on the other side of the door, now alerted to his presence.  His mind raced as he feverishly tried to figure out what to do next, he knew that the stairs weren't an option because he knew that he didn't possess the strength require to make it down them and the elevator was an unlikely choice as well because he bet that a security detail would be waiting for him no matter which floor he got off on.  

He finally decided that he could at least descend a few more flights of stairs before he made up his mind.  But as he began to stagger towards the top step the ceiling above him broke open and he was knocked unconscious by the two bodies that crashed down on top of him.

"Lindsey…guess we don't have to look for you anymore…," Angel said sarcastically under his breath before his attention was diverted upwards as the army of zombies on the other side of the door gave it another go and knocked the door off of its hinges.  

*                            *                         *                          *                     *                    *

"Ah Los Angeles…the city of angels…," Arthur nearly shouted with a huge smirk on his face as the skyscrapers and bright lights of the city came into view.  

"Should we wake those two…," Oz asked with a sly smirk on his face as he nodded his head towards the backseat.  Even though the two had vowed that they would stay awake first Groo and then Kate had succumbed to the sandman.  Arthur quickly stifled a laugh as he moved the rearview mirror so that he could get a good look.  Groo had slumped down in his seat and rested his chin on one shoulder with his arm around Kate, who had inadvertently ended up with her head resting on Groo's other shoulder.  The two looked happy but would probably bolt apart the moment they realized the position that they were currently in.

"Nah let em sleep…they look so cute together…," Arthur snickered softly over to Oz, who smiled and nodded his head before turning his attention back to the traffic ahead.

"But to be safe we'd better wake them up before we get to Angel's…," Oz added with a short snicker before he rolled down the window and surfed the breeze with his right hand. 

"So is this Angel as good as everyone seems to think that he is," Arthur asked with a bored frown on his face as he pulled the car to a stop in front of a just red traffic light.

"What do you mean as good as everyone seems to think he is…," Oz asked with a perplexed look on his face as he turned away from the window.

"I didn't mean anything derogatory by it…I just meant that from what I've heard about Angel he seems to be able to do anything he wants…even fly…," Arthur replied with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face before Oz sighed and suppressed a quick laugh.

"Well sorry but he can't fly…unless he's grown wings…that'd just be freaky…," Oz said with a snicker as he turned back towards the open window and watched a few cars trying to find a parking spot in a parking lot nearby.

"Working at Wolfram and Hart I've seen a lot of freaky things…most that I couldn't even tell my wife or family about…to top secret, that's how I found out about you three…or at least that's how this all started," Arthur said with a sad look of nostalgia on his face before the light turned green and he directed the car forward.

"So what are you going to do when we get to Angel's, I mean Groo, Kate, and I already know him and he'll help us with whatever Wolfram and Hart did to us but what are you going to do…because I don't think that you'll ever be able to go back to work where…," Oz said with a confused and somewhat concerned look on his face as he checked his watch and wondered how much longer the trip was going to take.

"I don't know…I just have a funny feeling…you know almost like a promotion that I'm not long for this world…," Arthur answered with an emotionless look on his face as he turned his turning signal on and changed lanes.

"Freaky…," Oz mumbled with a nervous and somewhat scared look on his face as Arthur drove on through the night.

*                      *                      *                            *                        *                           *

Cordelia and Faith walked nervously into the waiting room to it full of people.  They first went to the front desk so that Faith could get a bunch of pregnancy pamphlets that the doctor had told her about.  Initially Faith had vehemently refused to get the pamphlets saying that they were a waste of time but Cordelia had been able to talk her into at least picking them up, even if in the end she only used them as kindling.  The two had to look for around for a few minutes before spotting Elaine and Fred sitting near the exit.

"So how'd it go…what's the good word…," Fred asked meekly with an extremely nervous look on her face as she cringed slightly and backed away, as if she expected Faith to attempt to bite her head off.

"I'm fine…it's nothing…really…," Faith mumbled softly with a hint of anger in her voice as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"Hold on there sister…you're not getting out of it that easily…or rogue slayer here's pregnant…nine months away from diapers and baby wipes," Cordelia exclaimed with an overly excited smile on her face as she nearly began to hop up and down.  

"Thanks a lot Cor…," Faith mumbled angrily before she was interrupted by an exuberant shout from Fred.

"Congratulations…," Fred shouted in glee before she surged forward and gathered a startled Faith into a very tight bear hug.  

"F…Fred…get off…me," Faith growled in only a half angry tone of voice as she nervously pushed the excited Texan away.  

"Sorry…silly me…you're not the touchy feely type, you're the tough guy type that has no emotions…," Fred said with an embarrassed look on her face as she shrank back a bit away from Faith and stared at her shoes.  

"Damn straight…no…I mean…," Faith stammered back in reply proudly at first before her newfound strong conscience reared it's head and made her regret her initial response.  

"I think what Faith means Fred is that she's still in a state of shock over the fact that she's pregnant and how Wesley will take it, she's afraid that he won't be happy," Cordelia said with a look of disbelief on her face as she crossed her arms and looked away slightly.  

"I don't think you have to be worried about how Wesley will react Faith…if I know Wesley even an iota as much as I think I do then he'll be thrilled that you're pregnant," Fred said with a look that was full of hope as she nodded her head several times as if to try and further emphasize the point that she was trying to make.  

"Well whatever's going to happen it won't happen here…c'mon let's go before I get a ticket," Cordelia said with a frustrated frown on her face before she ushered Faith out of the hospital.

*                       *                        *                       *                        *                         *

Wesley and Gunn tried their best to fend off the advancing army of bloodthirsty zombies, but because of the fact that they had been battling as ferociously as they could their energy had soon dwindled.  They kept together, back to back, hacking off any limb or head that came to close as the ring of zombies around them began to slowly tighten up upon them.  Both men had received numerous cuts and scrapes, but both had been lucky and careful enough so as to not allow the zombies to bite them.  Gunn had come close a couple of times but Wesley had thought fast and pulled him back out of the way.  By now both of their axes were covered in blood and other various body fluids.

"This is getting out of hand…," Gunn shouted sarcastically before he swung his axe and decapitated another zombie.

"No argument here…but I don't see a way out of here unless something miraculous were to happen and the zombies…," Wesley started to say with a grim scowl on his face before the zombies suddenly stopped their assault and formed rigid lines up against each wall. 

"Hey…I…I…don't like this…," Gunn started to stammer out with a look of dark foreboding on his face before two large demons stepped around the corners at each end of the hallway.  "Who the hell are these guys…," Gunn asked with a growing look of concern on his face as the two demons curled their lips up into a slight grin and began to advance towards Wesley and Gunn.

"Kungai demons…of Asian origin…very large, powerful, and deadly…whatever you do don't let them get near you with that horn on the top of their heads…it's their tack horn…it's used to suck out the life essence of the victim," Wesley replied with a slightly nostalgic frown on his face and look in his eyes before Gunn interrupted.

"Okay so we know who these guys are…now how do we kill them…," Gunn asked with an impatient shout as he tried to appear as menacing as he could to the Kungai advancing towards him.  

"Honestly…I don't have a clue…when Angel and I faced a Kungai demon shortly after I arrived in Los Angeles it's tack horn had already been removed and it was bleeding to death…I don't see how we could…," Wesley answered with a very grim scowl on his face as he feigned a couple of advances towards the Kungai demon that was stalking towards him.  Just as the Kungai demon was about to attack Gunn the ceiling above it caved in and Gunn and Wesley were barely able to move before they saw a flash of steel and the demon's head rolling along the ground.

"Maybe we could just try cutting their heads off…that seems to work…," Angel quipped with a sly smirk on his face before he turned sharply and pulled Wesley out of the way of the Kungai demon's first attack.  

"Yeah but there's a lot more of them…," Gunn shouted in alarm as several more Kungai demons rushed around the corner, followed closely behind by a couple of vampires that Angel could have sworn that he had seen before.  

"We have to figure out where all of these zombies and demons are coming from…," Wesley added with a very grim and slightly angry scowl on his face as he raised his axe and feigned a charge towards the nearest Kungai demon.  

"We're a little busy right now Wes…maybe we should wait for the deep inspired discussion portion of the night…," Angel interrupted with an impatient look on his face as one of the vampires walked to the front of the group and smiled.

"Hello Angelus…it's good to see you again…," The vampire said with a delighted sneer on its face as Angel stared on in shock.

"It can't be…Penn…," Angel gasped out breathlessly as Penn began to laugh arrogantly and crossed his arms.

"But Kate drove a stake through your heart years ago…how…," Wesley asked with a confused and growing scowl of concern on his face as he shared a quick nervous look with Angel.

"That she did…but the bitch got lucky…this time that fate will be yours…," Penn replied with a look that seemed to say that he was supremely confident in his grasp of the situation.

"Wait…if he got staked then how'd he come back…," Gunn interjected growing more concerned by the minute at the familiarity between Penn and Angel.

"Wolfram and Hart…those bloody bastards did it again…," Wesley snapped angrily before sighed nervously and shook his head.

"Then I guess that means that I get a second chance to kill you…," Angel remarked with a forced cocky grin on his face before Penn unfolded his arms and he, the other vampire, and the Kungai demons charged down the hall towards Wesley, Gunn, and Angel.

*                     *                           *                             *                        *                     *

"Hey you guys wake up…we're here," Oz whispered loudly with a sly smile on his face as he reached back over the seat and shook Kate softly by the shoulder.  Groggily her eyes flittered open before she noticed the position that she was in and her eyes grew wide before she bolted upright.  

"Oz…why didn't you…," Kate demanded angrily as she tried to regain her composure while Groo lazily opened an eye and took a look around.

"Have we arrived at the hotel," Groo asked politely as he sat up and looked around while Oz turned around and suppressed a laugh.

"Yep…we're here, let's go…," Arthur said with an excited smile on his face before he turned the car off and got out.

"Hey wait for us," Kate shouted in some bit of alarm as she opened her door and quickly followed after Arthur.

"I do not understand that woman," Groo said softly with a completely perplexed frown on his face before he yawned deeply.

"Join the club pal…join the club…," Oz muttered back with a cheesy smile on his face before and Groo got out of the car and followed Arthur and Kate into the Hyperion. 

END OF CHAPTER 12


	13. More FightsAnd Catching Up

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 13-MORE FIGHTS…AND CATCHING UP**

Penn laughed in his usual arrogant way and motioned for Angel to attack, and the elder vampire obliged.  The two were soon locked in combat, throwing each other almost through the walls and knocking down more than one zombie along the way.  Wesley and Gunn tag teamed the Kungai demons as they charged, with Wesley smacking the first one across the face with the flat of his axe, causing the demon to spin around and be impaled by the next demons tack horn.  Gunn watched in shock as the first demons body was sucked dry of its life essence.  Seeing this before Wesley acted fast and swung his axe at the next demon in line, catching the charging demon off guard and sending its head tumbling back down the hallway.  Following his lead Gunn swung his own axe and off went another head.  After that Wesley tried to go to Angel's aid but another Kungai demon grabbed his arm and spun him around, aiming a punch at his chin.  Acting as fast as he could Wesley started to bring his axe up to hopefully deflect the blow, but all he was able to manage was to get the flat blade of the axe in between his chin and the Kungai demon's hand.  In the end he only managed to get himself knocked to the ground with a snarling Kungai demon standing over him, shaking its injured hand.

"We can't keep this up much longer…," Gunn shouted with a fair amount of fear in his voice as he took the opportunity provided him and killed the Kungai demon that had just tried to hit Wesley.

"We don't exactly have many avenues of escape if you haven't noticed…wait a minute…of course…," Wesley started to shout back with an annoyed scowl on his face as he got back to his feet.  With an excited smile on his face Wesley reached deep into his bag and began to feverishly sift through the contents.

"Wes now's not the time to…," Gunn started to say with a very nervous look on his face as he took point and hacked off another zombie's head.

"Yes…I found it…Angel, Gunn, we're getting out of here…," Wesley shouted in delight as he pulled a well worn scroll out of the bag and ripped the seal off.  

"What's that…," Gunn asked with a less than an enthusiastic look on his face as he glanced back over his shoulder at the parchment that Wesley held.  

"Our ticket out of here…a teleportation spell," Wesley exclaimed in earnest as he raced to unroll the parchment.  

"Great…now let's hope that Connor's gotten Lindsey out already," Angel mumbled under his breath before Penn pressed his attack.

*                           *                         *                                *                       *                         *

After Angel had left to go and try to find and help Wesley and Gunn Connor had taken it upon himself to help Lindsey down the stairs as fast as he could go.  This plan had worked well for a time, as the zombies were far to slow to keep up, but after going down several more floors Connor felt the strangest feeling wash over him like an ocean wave.  It felt as if he could feel that the current path that he had embarked upon would only end in folly and his death.  Cursing his luck Connor broke with the plan and smashed in one of the doors that led out of the stairwell and was relieved that the only person in the hallway was a scared young woman, who kept her distance from him though she didn't seem to be very afraid of him.  Connor started to head for one of the elevators before she stopped him.

"N…no…not that one, they're waiting for you in the lobby, take that elevator over there and go all the way down to the parking garage, you can get out there," the young woman said with a slowly growing look of pain on her face as her look soon reminded Connor of how Cordelia looked at times when she received a vision.  

"What…why should I trust you…for all I know they could be waiting for me in the parking garage and the lobby is free…," Connor demanded angrily with an impatient scowl on his face as he set Lindsey down beside the nearest elevator.

"I wouldn't…I can't lie to you Connor…not with our future and what will happen between us at stake, you're to important to me to die now…," the young woman said with a very worried look on her face as she kept looking back over her shoulder, as if she expected someone to come rushing around the corner at any second.  

"What…I don't understand…," Connor stammered out with a confused frown on his face as Lindsey mumbled softly to himself about how their time was running out.

"Neither do I…but whatever happens you cannot die here tonight…," the young woman replied with an almost panicked expression on her face as she slowly edged a little closer to Connor and Lindsey.  Connor cursed under his breath for ever meeting such a confusing young woman, whom for some strange reason he seemed to recognize, before he made his decision, pushing the down arrow button of the elevator nearest to him.

"Whatever…I don't plan on dying here tonight Ms…," Connor started to say with a very serious look on his face before he stopped and looked the young woman in the eye as she stopped merely a couple of feet in front of him.  

"You'll find out soon enough…come on," the young woman shouted as she shoved Connor into the just opened elevator and the two dragged Lindsey in after them as Connor could hear the sounds of approaching security personnel.  

*                         *                         *                             *                      *                         *

The ride back to the Hyperion was taken up mostly by a plethora of baby talk, with Faith trying to drown it out with a combination of the radio turned up high enough and plugging her ears with her fingers.  Fred and Cordelia started a game to try to figure out what Faith and Wesley should name the baby before Faith shouted in anger at them to cease and desist.  She was still having a hard time dealing with the fact that she was going to be a mother, with a large part of her wanting nothing more than to run far away, hopefully far enough that she could leave her problems behind.  But her more rational side scolded her for even thinking of leaving as she begrudgingly admitted to herself that Wesley would probably be ecstatic about becoming a father and it would shatter him if she were to leave.  

"So how are you going to tell Wesley Faith…I'll do it…if you want," Elaine dared to ask with a nervous frown on her face as she hoped the offer would ease the tension between the two a little.  Faith started to shout something back angrily but when she opened her mouth she thought better and thought for a second before answering.

"No…thanks…thanks anyway…this is something that I have to do…," Faith replied softly with now an even more nervous look on her face as she spotted the Hyperion in the distance.

"Well however you do it Faith, just do it soon…I don't know how long I can keep from saying something to Wesley or Angel…," Cordelia said with a serious look on her face as the Hyperion came into sharper view.

"Who's that…," Fred asked with a concerned and slightly confused look on her face as Cordelia parked Angel's car next to one that was already there.

"No clue…maybe it's just someone that needs help…we're still a detective agency remember…even if we haven't really done much detecting lately," Cordelia answered with a confused and slightly worried look on her face as she shut the engine off and got out.  The four women looked the car over for a little bit, hoping that something would spark a memory, before walking up to the Hyperion's front doors.  No sooner had they walked through the front doors when their whole world changed.  Cordelia nearly passed out at the sight of Groo sitting quietly on the circular couching talking to an old man that she didn't recognize.  Fred however did recognize the old man and let out an overly excited squeal.

"Uncle Arthur," Fred squealed loudly with an exuberant smile on her face as she rushed across the lobby and nearly tackled her startled uncle as he stood up.

"Winifred…," Was all that Arthur could get out because Fred had him locked in the tightest bear hug that she could manage.

"Hey Cordelia…," Oz said with a bit of apathy in his voice as he slowly trudged down the stairs, followed by a yawning Kate.  Cordelia stared at Oz in shock for a few seconds before she calmed down and smiled.

"Oz…Kate, what are you guys doing here and…," Cordelia said with a short sigh of relief before she turned slightly back towards the center of the lobby as Groo walked towards her.

"Hello prin…Cordelia…I hope that our visit finds you well," Groo said, flinching slightly at his oversight, with a nervous smile on his face.  Had either he or Cordelia been looking over they would have seen Kate unconsciously grinding her teeth at Groo's slipup.  Oz frowned in confusion as for some reason he could hear Kate's teeth grinding against each other along with several rapid heartbeats.  He was just about to point out his confusing predicament when Faith broke in.

"What the hell's going on here…," Faith growled with an impatient scowl on her face as she felt more like lying down, or possibly curling up against Wesley next to a roaring fire, than to stand here and make with the salutations.  

"It's a long story," Oz began with a sly and tired smile on his face as he walked up to Cordelia and nodded his head.

"Well we've got awhile…so spill," Cordelia said with a slightly worried frown on her face as she checked her watch and then followed a nervous Elaine towards a smiling and giggling Fred.

*                           *                           *                         *                          *                     *

Angel felt like his insides were being liquefied.  Gunn felt like he was going to throw up and Wesley felt sick to his stomach.  The three had never experienced being involved with a transportation spell and later would all agree that they never wanted to go through one again.  Wesley had finished reading the words of the spell only seconds before an enraged Penn threw his first punch at Angel.  That punch was only met by empty air, causing the recently reborn vampire to howl in anger before stalking off.  In his hurry to cast the spell Wesley had forgotten to carefully choose the spot that they'd all rematerialize at.  And so it was quite a shock to everyone involved when they came back to their senses and found themselves falling fast straight towards the fountain.  

"Bloody hell…," Wesley mumbled, with eyes as wide as silver dollars, before he plunged headfirst into the lukewarm water.

"Oh shi…," Gunn shouted in alarm before he followed Wesley into the fountain before rolling off of the former watcher and trying to wipe the water out of his eyes.  Meanwhile Angel just held an unneeded breath and stumbled out of the fountain as fast as he could.

"Wesley…what...," Angel sputtered out with a less than impressed scowl on his face as he tried to shake the water out of his hair.  

"Sorry…I didn't have time to properly finish the spell," Wesley replied meekly as he shrugged his shoulders and pulled himself up and out of the fountain.

"Forget about it, the spell worked that's the important thing…now all we…," Angel started to say with a small sigh and shrug of his shoulders as he was starting to look around for any dangers while squeezing the first few drops out of his saturated clothes.  

"Connor…," Wesley shouted in alarm before he hefted his axe on his shoulder and took off in a run towards the front of the building, where Connor and the mysterious young woman were struggling to carry a very lethargic Lindsey.  Gunn started to run to help before Angel stopped him.

"We can handle this…go get your truck…we're going to…," Angel started to say with a very serious look on his face before a security detail burst out of the towers front doors and charged towards Connor and Lindsey.  "Connor behind you…," Angel shouted in alarm as he spun on his heel and charged into the defense of his son and onetime adversary.  He barely took note of the young woman that was perspiring heavily as she struggled to help Connor, her dark crimson hair having fallen out of the clumsy ponytail that she had tried to put it in before encountering Connor.  Wesley started to run past Connor to help Angel with the security detail when the mysterious young woman stopped him.

"Wait…let Connor go…you can help me with Lindsey," The young woman said as she used her eyes to plead with Wesley.  The ex-watcher stood silent for a few minutes before he motioned to Connor that he'd take his spot.  Without a word Connor gave Lindsey over to Wesley and rushed to help Angel, who was having a harder time with the security detail than he would have expected to have.  

"What are these guys…," Angel questioned out loud with a very concerned and angry scowl on his face as the guard that he had just knocked out jumped right back to his feet.

"They're not human…," Connor added with a look of disgust on his face as he kicked one of the guards in the stomach, only to have the guard grab his foot and give it a very powerful, and painful, twist.  Connor cursed out loud as he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, with his right knee feeling as if it were on fire.

"Connor…," The young woman shouted with a look of absolute fear on her face as she dropped Lindsey and rushed to Connor's side, only to get backhanded across the face and sent flying off to the side.

"Angel…," Wesley shouted in surprise and alarm as he struggled to hold Lindsey up, ultimately stumbling to the ground and hitting his head on the curb.  Instantly everything went black.

*                        *                         *                             *                      *                     *

Faith had listened at first to Oz's explanation but when Kate had started her story she had become a bit queasy and left the lobby, complaining that she was just going to use the restroom.  Tiredly she stumbled her way to the room that she and Wesley had used during their recuperation from the zombie attack in the sewer.  Fumbling with the doorknob she started to head towards the bed but her stomach overruled her lethargy and she rushed to the bathroom before dry heaving for a few minutes.  She fumed silently for a few seconds as she sat there on the freezing bathroom floor before she stood up, cleaned herself up and made her way slowly over to the bed.  She quickly pulled off her shoes and then set about unbuttoning her pants, feeling like taking a long nap.  When she had finally pulled her pants off she threw them into the far corner of the room and slid under the covers of the bed, pulling them up tight around her and trying to fall asleep.  Unfortunately for her there was a knock at the door. 

"Go away," Faith shouted as loudly as she dared, hoping that whoever it was would take the not so subtle hint and leave.

"Faith…are you okay in there," A squeaky and nervous voice said from the other side of the door, a voice that Faith immediately recognized as Fred's.  The two had never been that close, partially stemming from the fact that Faith felt that Fred still harbored feelings of some kind for Wesley.  Fred had more than once denied the existence of those feelings but Faith had seen the way that Fred looked at her and Wesley when the two publicly displayed some sort of affection for the other.  The tension about that had eased considerably though as Faith had gratefully noticed that Fred and Gunn moved in together, just a few short weeks before the zombie attack.

"I'm fine…now go away," Faith shouted back, this time with a bit more of a confrontational tone to her voice, hoping that she'd scare the Texan away.  

"Do you want me to get you anything…a glass of water or something," Fred asked with a hopeful look on her face as she leaned lightly up against the door, hoping that the formerly rogue slayer wouldn't rip it open suddenly and send her hurtling to the floor.  

"I'm fine…just tell me when Wesley gets back…but don't you dare tell him or…," Faith started to yell angrily before she forced herself to calm down before her eyelids finally became to heavy and she fell into much needed sleep.  

"Don't worry I won't…that's your job…," Fred replied with an uneasy frown on her face before she shook her head and walked back down to the lobby.  

"How is she…," Oz asked with a concerned frown on his face hopped up on the counter and retied one of his shoelaces.  

"Grumpy would be putting it mildly…God I hope I don't get like that when I'm pregnant…," Fred moaned with a worried and exhausted look on her face as she slumped her shoulders and plopped down onto the circular couch right next to Cordelia.

"Wait…she's…pregnant, but…," Oz sputtered out with a shocked and confused look on his face as he looked up from his position on the counter and cocked his head to one side and squinted slightly.

"Yeah but don't say anything to any of the guys until Faith tells Wesley the good news…," Cordelia ordered with a firm scowl on her face as she waved an index finger around in the air as if she were giving orders to her troops.

"Yes ma'am, we won't say a thing…right Groo…Kate," Oz replied with a good natured mock salute that caused Fred to giggle a bit and Elaine to just look on in wonder and confusion.  

"Of course Oz…we would not think of usurping that secret…," Groo exclaimed proudly with a very serious look on his face as Kate eyed him oddly for a bit before she spoke.

"Well it's not our place…um…what he said," Kate started to say with a nervous smile on her face before she became flustered and ended up staring at the ground as she crossed her arms and unconsciously leaned into Groo's shoulder.  

"Exactly…," Groo muttered softly, to wrapped up in the fact that Kate was leaning on his shoulder to care about the odd looks that he was receiving from everyone except for Oz and Arthur, who both tried to keep from snickering.  Cordelia was about to ask a rather pointed question in response but was interrupted by the sight of a familiar face hurrying towards the Hyperion's front doors.  The boys were back.

END OF CHAPTER 13


	14. They're Back And Big News

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the new ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 14-THEY'RE BACK AND BIG NEWS**

Her initial euphoria at the sight of Angel rushing towards the front doors of the Hyperion soon took a nose dive and turned into worry and eventually panic.  As he neared the front doors Cordelia was shocked to see the presence of bruises and the look of almost utter desperation on Angel's face.  She was about to go and help him when she noticed that he was helping a very badly limping Connor towards the doors.  As she turned to yell back for help she failed to see a bloodied Wesley and a weary Gunn struggling to carry if not drag an unconscious Lindsey in between them towards the front doors.

"They're back…," Was all that Cordelia could get out through her extreme level of fear and panic before she turned back around and rushed to the doors.  The look on her face had said it all and Oz rushed to the front doors with a nervous Groo close behind.  Kate let out a short yelp of astonishment coupled with anger as Groo's movements had been so sudden and she hadn't had time to cope, falling over onto her side on the circular sofa.

"Angel what…," Oz asked with a worried and concerned frown on his face as he opened the front door to let Angel and Connor in, just as the first few rays of morning filled the courtyard behind them.

"Oz…," Angel mumbled out with an astonished frown on his face before he continued on his way and set Connor down on an open seat on the couch before collapsing down beside his son.  Fred started to rush to Gunn's side, who looked like he had been run over by a Mack truck before she remembered Faith and rushed up the stairs.

"Faith, Faith wake up…they're back...Wesley's hurt…you'd better come quick and…," Fred started to shout nearly at the top of her lungs before he concern about Gunn and the others overwhelmed her and she spun around and took off back towards the lobby.  In her room Faith had been startled awake by Fred calling out her name and had basically blotted out the rest until she had heard Wesley's name in conjunction with his being hurt.  Throwing the covers full off of the bed she rushed to the door and was about to open the door when she glanced down and noticed that she wasn't wearing any pants.  

"Fuck…," Faith cursed loudly as she let go of the doorknob and rushed back into the room and grabbed her jeans.  She jammed her feet into the pant legs and hopped her way back towards the door before she threw open the door with so much force that it was ripped from its hinges.  She buttoned up and zipped up her jeans as she stumbled her way down the stairs as fast as she could.  When she got to the lobby Angel and Connor were still on the circular couch, Fred was trying to make sure that Gunn was alright.  But Wesley was nowhere in sight.  "Where's Wesley…," Faith shouted in anger and a sizeable amount of fear as she looked first to Fred and then to Cordelia, who through a concerned glare pointed back towards the kitchen.  With a look of desperation on her face Faith rushed towards the kitchen, for the moment completely ignoring the presence of Elaine, Kate, Groo, Oz, and Arthur.  "Wesley…," Faith shouted again this time partially in a panic and partially in relief as mid yell she spotted her former watcher by the sink.

"Over here…," Wesley replied with a painful grimace on his face as he had the water running in the sink and was holding a wet and bloodied washcloth up to the side of his head.  Faith silently passed the distance between them in mere seconds before she threw her arms around him and nearly squeezed the life out of him in an earnest bear hug.

"Oh thank God," Faith whispered almost unconsciously as she pulled back from Wesley and her jaw dropped open when she reached up and pulled the washcloth back from the side of Wesley's head and got her first look at his injury.  "What the hell happened…," Faith asked now with an angry tone to her voice as she pulled a stool up next to Wesley and sat down.  

"We ran into a small problem…," Wesley replied with a nervous grin on his face as he pulled up a stool of his own and let Faith take the washcloth from him.

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one…," Faith grumbled back with a less than pleased scowl on her face as she tried to rinse out the washcloth underneath the jet of water before returning it to the wound on Wesley's temple.  

"We were trapped on one of the upper floors…surrounded by Kungai demons, zombies, and a few other vampires before I cast a teleportation spell…that unfortunately teleported us directly over the fountain…," Wesley started to reply with a tired and weary frown on his face as he laid his left hand on Faith's knee.

"Yeah…then what…," Faith asked with a concerned scowl on her face, not taking the opportunity to add in a joke or sarcastic comment, as she took the wet washcloth away from the wound on Wesley's temple.

"After that we thought that we were home free…clear sailing…then some guards showed up and did a pretty damn good job of kicking our asses from here to Sunday…," Wesley added with a body-wide wince and shudder as Faith returned the now clean washcloth to his temple.  Faith visibly cringed at the pained look on Wesley's face before she edged her stool closer.

"Wait…are you trying to tell me that a bunch of shitty Wolfram and Hart guards laid the smackdown on you…why didn't Angel and Connor just…," Faith started to say with an angry and confused frown on her face as she pressed the washcloth harder against the wound on Wesley's temple.

"They tried…," Wesley interjected with a quick hiss of pain before he continued, "But even though they looked it the guards were anything from human…now I don't have a bloody clue what they were but…."  

"This just keeps getting better and better…," Faith muttered angrily under her breath as she took the washcloth off of Wesley's wound and was relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped, if only momentarily.  

"So what's new with you…how'd your checkup go…," Wesley asked, glad to change the subject, as he sat still and let Faith put a gauze patch over the wound.  The look of sudden terror in her eyes was one that Wesley had never seen before, a look that he wasn't sure that he wanted to know the cause of.  "What…what is it, what's wrong," Wesley asked, his voice now full of concern and worry, as he stood up and laid one hand on Faith's right shoulder and the other at her left elbow.  

"Wrong…why would you…heh…nothing's wrong…I'm as fit as a fiddle…as…," Faith started to say with a nervous smile on her face, a smile that only grew as she started to babble.  Wesley stopped Faith by placing a soft kiss on her lips and running a hand through her unkempt and unruly chocolate curls.  

"Because you're babbling Faith…you never babble, Buffy and Dawn babble…but…," Wesley said softly with a tender smile on his face as he sat back down on his stool and pulled Faith close so that their foreheads were touching.  Faith thought for a second and tried to come up with a plausible explanation that would satisfy Wesley, something that she could put her usual sarcastic spin on, but she was coming up empty every time.  Finally she just decided to face the music.  

"I'm pregnant…," Faith whispered very softly at first, so softly in fact that Wesley almost missed it, chalking the sound up to being a loud sigh.  But Faith erased any doubts that were in his mind when she picked her head up and looked Wesley in the eye and repeated her diagnosis, "I'm pregnant."

*                              *                            *                            *                      *                   *

"Let me get this straight…you had them surrounded, their only avenues of escape cut off and still they managed to somehow elude you…," The golem Lindsey shrieked in frustration and anger as it grew so angry in the end that it reached out and snapped the neck of the nearest vampire, instantly producing a cloud of grey dust.  

"It wasn't our fault…," One fat vampire mumbled out as a reply before shrinking back behind Penn, who didn't seem to happy to have anyone trying to use him as a shield.

"They used magic…the watcher used magic…," Another vampire added with a nervous tapping of his foot before he too was reduced to a cloud of dust by an angry golem Lindsey.

"They used magic…that's the best that you simpleton's can come up with…my plans are finally coming to fruition and you let the only ones in this world that have even the slightest chance of stopping me go because they used magic…," The golem Lindsey growled in anger as it continued to pace around the room, with the assembled vampires shrinking back visibly as it came near.  A few of the vampires gulped back their fear and nodded.  The golem Lindsey looked about ready to stake them all before it shrugged its shoulders and laughed a bit.  "No matter…no amount of magic and trickery will save them, or the wretches of this entire city, from the next phase of my plan…," The golem Lindsey added with a wicked grin on its face before it slowly walked away from the assembled vampires and disappeared around a nearby corner.

*                    *                    *                       *                    *                          *

He could have sworn time itself stopped for several seconds, if not eons.  Over the years he had thought of what this moment would be like many times but when it had finally come his mind instantly went blank.  He could see the fear and desperation in her eyes, even through the strong as stone veil that she hastily threw up to defend herself.  He could tell that she wanted more than anything for him to take her in his arms and cast one reassuring phrase after another her way.  But his arms felt like stone, completely unavailable for action.  His mouth instantly dried up and against his will a tear slipped out, causing Faith to pull away slowly.

"Wes…please…say something…," Faith mumbled with a completely shattered and defenseless look on her face as she sat back down on her stool.  

"F…," Wesley tried to reply but he couldn't get more out than a single solitary letter.  His heart started constricting painfully as he saw Faith start to shake, almost unnoticeably at first but easily visible only seconds later.  His heart was nearly shattered at the sight that came next, a side of herself that Faith had only shown to one other person in her life, the sight of the formerly tough as nails rogue slayer blubbering like a baby.  She had shown the side to Angel after the vampire with a soul had interrupted her torture session of the man that now she didn't know if she could ever live without.  That time had been about coming to grips with who she was and where she was going.  This time however was about something equally as terrifying to her and equally as serious.

"Wes…," Faith blubbered out through the tears with a sniffle thrown in as she came dangerously close to hyperventilating before Wesley was finally able to force his body to obey his beleaguered mind and do something about what he saw in front of him.

"I love you…," Wesley finally whispered softly at first before he calmed his voice down, and made sure that he was looking Faith straight in the eye, and pulled his love into his arms.  A flood of shared fear and relief swept over the pair as soon Wesley's tears intermixed with those of his loves.  

"I love you to…," Faith managed to mumble out as she finally released all of her defensive barriers and released all of her fears and let the reservoir of built up tears flow freely.  Neither Faith nor Wesley noticed the lithe Texan, overjoyed tears running down her own cheeks, silently staring at them from the doorway on the other side of the room.

*                        *                       *                       *                          *                           *

Upon their arrival back to the Hyperion, and Wesley lumbering off into the kitchen where Faith ultimately found him, Lindsey had barely moved other than to breathe.  Elaine had been at his side almost instantly, but needing a great amount of assistance from a very concerned Lorne to keep herself from fainting.  With Gunn and Groo's help they were able to carry the unconscious former lawyer into one of the rooms closest to the stairs.  Cordelia had rushed around the lobby and a few other rooms and was finally able to produce two icepacks, one for Connor's knee and the other for Angel's shoulder that he swore didn't bother him.  However Cordelia had seen the wince on Angel's face every time he moved that shoulder and knew better.

"What happened…," Oz finally asked with a concerned and worried scowl on his face as he helped a nervous Connor sit up.  Connor was just about to recoil in fear at the gesture of aid from an unknown person when the young woman that had helped him get Lindsey out of the building finally walked through the front doors of the Hyperion, looking very much afraid.

"I wish I knew…but when Penn…," Angel started to say before he shifted his weight a bit and winced as the act pulled on his sore shoulder.

"What, Penn…but I thought…didn't you…I mean…," Cordelia stuttered out with a confused and alarmed frown on her face as she did her best to keep the icepack on Angel's shoulder.  

"Didn't I stake him you mean…no…Kate did that…had to drive the board through me to do it but…," Angel started to say as he gingerly touched the bruises on his face before Kate cut it.

"I did it…I killed that bastard…," Kate said with a very confidant and very serious frown on her face as she walked around the circular sofa and looked down at Angel.

"Yes…yes you did…," Angel replied softly with a weak grin on his face before he was again interrupted, but this time by Arthur.

"Uh miss…may I help you…," Arthur asked with a kind smile on his face as he walked up to the young woman that had helped Connor earlier.

"N…no…thank you…I just…," The young woman stammered out as she shied away from Arthur and looked fearfully to Connor for help.  

"I'm sorry did I frighten you…," Arthur asked with a nervous and slightly embarrassed look on his face as he took a step back and turned just as Fred walked back into the main part of the lobby, smiling and wiping away a few tears.

"N…," The young woman mumbled out quickly with a nervous look on her face before she hurried over and sat down beside Connor, who at first didn't register that she was there in his actions.  "Here…let me help you…," she said with a worried look on her face as he jumped up out of her seat walked away, soon returning with a chair for Connor to prop his leg up on.

"Thank you…," Connor replied softly with a painful grimace on his face as he gingerly propped his leg up on the chair.  

"You're welcome…but…," The young woman said with a nervous smile on her face as she averted her gaze from Connor's face and stared at the floor.

"You're hurt…," Connor said with a concerned tone to his voice and look on his face as he slipped his hand beneath the young woman's chin and lifted her head up until their eyes met.

"Oh this…it's…it's…," The young woman mumbled back in reply with an even more nervous smile on her face than before as she lightly touched the darkening bruise on her cheek.

"Nothing…no, it's not nothing…it's something…," Connor finished for her with a slightly worried scowl on his face as Angel only momentarily looked on in confusion before Cordelia pulled him back to other matters.

"Angel…we have some good news and some bad news…which do you want first…," Cordelia asked with an unhappy look on her face as she sat down beside Angel while Kate crossed her arms and stood nearby.

"The good news…," Angel replied after thinking for a few seconds as he looked first over at Cordelia and then up at Kate.

"I wish we could Angel…but we promised that we wouldn't…," Fred said with a nervous look on her face as she tried her best to keep from letting a sniffle out along with a few more tears.

"Fred…what's wrong…what happened…is Faith okay…," Angel demanded with a slowly growing scowl of anger on his face as he started to stand up but Cordelia pulled him back down with a serious look on her face.

"She will be once she tells Wesley the good news…," Cordelia replied with a happy smile on her face that seemed to infer that she having a hard time in keeping the secret.

"What good news…," Angel asked, brows deeply furrowed, and a very concerned look on his face before he was interrupted for the third time.

"That Faith is pregnant…," Wesley answered with a nervous smile that was equaled by the one on Faith's face as the two walked into the lobby arm in arm.  For the first time in a very long time Angel found himself wanting to jump up and hug the two, showering them with well wishes.  But as far as a response Oz beat him to it.

"Cool…," Oz said with a happy smirk on his face as he nodded his head slightly and leaning back in his seat beside Connor and the young woman.

*                      *                     *                             *                        *                      *

All over the world it had been happening for weeks.  It started out as isolated cases, cases that soon became an epidemic, of sorts.   No one knew who was behind it, only that whoever it was knew what they were doing and had friends in high places.  Small family cemeteries were the first to be hit, sometimes with every grave unearthed and the remains of dearly loved deceased family members strewn about all over the ground.  Next had come the city wide cemeteries and mausoleums, no matter how many security personnel had been present in the attempt to stop such an event.  No police force or government in the world could figure out exactly what was going on, only that someone, or something, was digging up and stealing the remains of at last count in the thousands of bodies.  For what purpose no one was certain.  A few key political figures had been able to keep the disturbing news out of the front page headlines.  But even those that had accomplished that task knew that they couldn't keep it up for very much longer, those responsible had to be found.  The only clue as to who had committed the heinous acts was when a night watchman had found a small tie clip lying on the ground that bore only three letters, W, R, and H.

END OF CHAPTER 14


	15. Who's The New GirlDanger Looming Ahead

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 15-WHO'S THE NEW GIRL-DANGER LOOMING AHEAD**

At first Angel couldn't, or better yet maybe didn't want to, believe his ears.  Not that he never wanted Wesley and Faith to have a family but not a single bone in his body expected them to start that family so soon.  But as he continued to stay silent, not noticing that almost every pair of eyes in the room were aimed his way, he tried to push through his conflicted feelings and at least try to appear happy for two of his best friends.  He finally let Cordelia shake him back to reality when Faith looked like she were about to let a tear slip and Wesley about ready to start shouting.  

"Angel…come on, don't you go all zombie on me too…," Faith shouted with an angry look on her face and tone to her voice as she reached out and snapped her fingers beside Angel's ear.  

"What…oh sorry Faith," Angel started to mumble out as he shook his head to clear out of the stupor that he had fallen into.  

"Congratulations…," Fred shouted with an excited smile on her face as she hugged Wesley tightly and then started to go to hug Faith but stopped when she remembered what the former rogue slayer had said at the hospital.  

"Likewise," Lorne said with a thoroughly delighted smile on his face as he patted Wesley on the back while Connor and the young crimson haired woman beside him just looked on with almost bored looks on their faces.

"Uh not to be a killjoy or anything but…are you all prepared for what Wolfram and Hart are going to do to you," Arthur asked with a worried look on his face as he sat down on the top step just inside of the front doors.

"You mean what they'll try to do to us don't you…," Gunn said with a confident look on his face as he put an arm around Fred and pulled her close.

"No…they know what we did tonight, they were ready for us, I agree with him…they're going to come after us," Connor added with a very serious look on his face before he winced in pain as the young woman lightly touched his knee.

"Sorry…," She mumbled with a nervous and scared look on her face as she cringed and started to back away from Connor.

"You're right Connor, they will…now the only question is how," Angel stated with a very serious and deep in thought look on his face as he turned to look at Cordelia.

"Better yet…when," Wesley interjected with a serious and slightly worried frown on his face as he pulled Faith close.

"If I remember the employee handbook timetables then I'd say soon, real soon," Arthur piped up with a nervous and scared look on his face as he looked up and locked gazes with an equally nervous Fred.

"How would you know that…and just who the bloody hell are you anyway…," Wesley said with an accusing scowl on his face as he snapped his head around and glared at Arthur.

"Leave him alone Wesley," Fred started to say with a very defensive frown on her face as she slipped out of Gunn's grasp and walked towards Arthur before sitting down beside him and throwing an arm around his shoulders.  "He's my uncle Arthur, and he works for Wolfram and Hart," She added with a nervous look on her face as she kept her gaze locked onto the floor.

*                      *                      *                              *                           *                         *

Upstairs in the room Elaine had been left alone with Lindsey, not by design but merely by chance.  She hadn't been trained at Wolfram and Hart to treat anything more serious than a splinter, but here she was sitting on a bed beside the man she loved and she couldn't do a thing for him.  What made matters worse in her mind was that the only people that could help him were currently downstairs discussing other matters.  The best that she could do was wet a washcloth in the bathroom sink and lay it on his forehead.  She repeated that process many times before she couldn't take it any longer and went to the door to make someone come back upstairs and help Lindsey.  She made it as far as a step outside of the room before she heard a soft whimper from the vicinity of the bed.  

"Lindsey," Elaine nearly shouted with an elated smile on her face as she shut the door loudly behind her and rushed back to the bed.

"Nnh…wha…where, where am I…," Lindsey mumbled softly with a concerned look on his face as he tried to open his eyes long enough to look around the room.  He stopped looking around when his gaze fell on a tearful Elaine.

"Safe…I mean you're safe Lindsey, Angel did it, he and his friends broke you out of Wolfram and Hart and brought you here," Elaine replied with a relieved smile on her face as the tears began to gush unheeded down her cheeks.  Lindsey let out a deep sigh of relief and seemed to inwardly collapse onto the bed as he closed his eyes and smiled.  When he opened them again he concentrated his gaze on Elaine's face.

"Why are you crying…," Lindsey managed to mumble out with as best a worried and confused look on his face as he could muster as he lifted a hand up and lightly brushed away a few tears.  

"Because it's over…we're done with Wolfram and Hart…we're safe," Elaine replied with a happy smile on her face as she tried her best to hold back the tears.  Elaine started to add something but Lindsey coughed loudly with a very worried look on his face.

"No, we're not safe, not yet, you can't escape Wolfram and Hart…," Lindsey choked out with a painful scowl on his face as he tried to sit up, but stopped when Elaine pushed him back down.

"Guess I can't argue with that…," Elaine replied sadly after having her perfect dream of escape shattered only moments before.

*                       *                              *                      *                        *                         *

Fred's declaration of who her uncle worked for almost tore the small group assembled in the lobby apart at the seams.  Gunn's gaze flickered nervously around the room, trying to gauge each friend's reaction, notwithstanding his own.  Oz sat idly by retying one of his shoes while Kate walked back over to the circular couch and sat down beside Groo, leaning her head onto his shoulder with a bored look on her face.  Wesley and Faith could only stand and stare at first each other and then to Arthur.  Cordelia looked about ready to go ten rounds with Arthur while Angel and Connor went almost immediately into quiet full attack mode.  Gunn could see father and son tense up, almost as if they expected an attack to come at any moment.  The young crimson haired woman sitting beside Connor seemingly tried to burrow her way into Connor's side, as the mere mention of the firm scared her to death.  Gunn couldn't quite make out what it was with the young woman that he had first seen helping Connor drag an unconscious Lindsey out of the Wolfram and Hart towers.  After they had begun their exodus from the towers she had barely left Connor's side for a second, and Connor didn't seem to mind in the least the attention.  Gunn was about to ask a question when Lorne broke in.

"Uh Winifred…you do remember that Wolfram and Hart are the psychotic lawyers from hell…right," Lorne asked with a shocked and worried smirk on his face as he shrugged his shoulders a bit before he looked around the room.  

"Of course I do Lorne, but Arthur isn't a lawyer, he…," Fred began to reply with a defensive frown on her face as she gave Arthur a hug.

"It's alright Winifred you don't have to defend me, yes I work…or should say worked for Wolfram and Hart, but I was a nobody there, so much so that they probably don't even know that I'm gone yet," Arthur interjected with a nervous but calm look on his face as he patted Fred lovingly on the head before turning to face everyone.  Angel studied the look in Arthur's eyes for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders.

"Whatever…we have more important matters to deal with right now…," Angel muttered softly before wincing in pain as Cordelia accidentally bumped into one of his bruises.

"Like the identity of Little Red Riding Hood over there is," Gunn finished with a serious and slightly worried look on his face as he turned his gaze towards Connor and the young woman at his side.

"Me…," The young woman asked meekly with a scared look on her face as she frantically looked to Connor for help.

"No the other redhead in the room," Cordelia exclaimed with an angry and sarcastic frown on her face as she crossed her arms and glared.

"Uh Cordelia…you already know who I am," Oz replied with a slightly nervous and cheesy smile on his face as he turned towards Cordelia.

"Oz…not you, of course I know…I mean…ah forget it," Cordelia exclaimed with a frustrated scowl on her face at first before she threw her hands up and sank back into her seat and leaned up against Angel, who lightly patted her on the shoulder.

"It's okay…," Connor mumbled softly to the young woman, who looked to be smack dab in the middle of making the fight or flight decision.  

"J…Jocelyn, Jocelyn Rosen," Jocelyn stuttered out with a very nervous look on her face as she looked like she expected to be yelled at shortly after saying her name.  

"Well hello Joc…," Fred started to say with a good-natured smile on her face as she went to shake Jocelyn's hand before Wesley cut in.

"Wait Fred…before we welcome her we should have her sing and let Lorne read her," Wesley interjected with a serious and slightly concerned frown on his face as he pulled an equally nervous Faith closer.

"Wesley…," Fred said more as a statement than his name as she turned towards the former watcher and balled up her hands into fists.

"Wesley's right, we've been fooled before, Lorne…," Angel said with a tired frown on his face as he slowly got back to his feet, despite the worried look on Cordelia's face.

"I'm game Angelcakes," Lorne replied with a nervous grin on his face as he straightened his tie.

"Sing…what do you mean," Jocelyn asked with a scared and confused look on her face as she crossed her arms protectively around herself.

"I'm an empathy demon honey, all you do is sing a song…any song, or if you're not the karaoke type then you can hum a few bars of something and I'll get a reading from you," Lorne replied with his best kind and non threatening smile on his face as he knelt down in front of Jocelyn.

"It…doesn't hurt, does it," Jocelyn asked with a nervous look on her face as she uncrossed her arms and seemed to be less afraid of Lorne.

"Nope, but it will if we find that you're a spy from Wolfram and Hart," Faith replied with a sarcastic but yet serious frown on her face as she lightly glared at Jocelyn.

"N…no, I'm not a spy, they wanted to use me…," Jocelyn stammered out with a nervous look on her face before she cringed away from Faith, who seemed proud of herself to have Jocelyn instantly be afraid of her.

"So sing already, this is getting boring," Kate exclaimed with a frustrated scowl on her face before she brushed a speck of dirt off of Groo's pant leg.

"Okay…," Jocelyn said with a very nervous look on her face before she slowly began to hum an old tune that she remembered her mother singing to her.  All eyes were glued to Lorne for his reaction.  At first the empathy demon looked like he'd seen a ghost, but slowly his expression changed to one of utter joy, complete with a swell of tears.

"Bravo…that was beautiful…just beautiful," Lorne choked out with tears slipping down his cheeks and a joyful smile on his face.  Before Jocelyn could say anything Lorne hurried forward and caught her in a rare hug.

"So I'm guessing that she's not a spy…," Oz piped up with his usual calm look on his face as he sheepishly looked around the room.

"My beautiful nightingale…a spy, no Ms. Rosen is not a spy, she's…she's…," Lorne replied with an aghast look on his face before he couldn't finish his sentence because of what he saw in his reading.

"A seer…like Cordelia," Connor said with almost a look of awe on his face as he managed a half smile before noticing that everyone was looking at him and returning his expression to the usual sullen frown.  

"Not exactly…," Lorne started to say with a nervous look on his face as he gave a meager smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not a seer like you are Cordelia…I don't get visions…I only get really short flashes and  super strong feelings, kind of an empathy seer…if those exist," Jocelyn added with a nervous and frustrated frown on her face as she tried to explain her abilities.

"They're not supposed to…at least not anymore," Wesley said, nearly in awe, as his brows furrowed and a flash of excitement screamed into his eyes.

"What do you mean, not supposed to anymore," Faith demanded with a slightly angry frown on her face as she gave Wesley's hand a strong squeeze.

"Because sometime in the latter half of the last century, no one's exactly sure as to the date, but all of the known empathy seer's were hunted down and killed," Wesley replied with a very serious and concerned scowl on his face, one that soon transferred to everyone else in the room save Jocelyn.  Her heart nearly froze in her chest as she tried to come to grips with what Wesley had just said and what it would most likely mean to her.

"That's horrible…," Fred said, nearly in a whisper, with a sad look on her face as she crossed her arms around herself and stared at no one in particular.

"Yes Fred, it was horrible, the watcher's council did what they could to try to stem the tide of killings but…," Wesley started to say with a slightly embarrassed and ashamed look on his face as he kept from looking Faith in the eye.

"But…what Wesley, what'd the council do to try to stop the killings," Faith asked with now a very worried look on her face as deep in her heart she guessed the reason.

"At first the council used every resource at its disposal to try to save the seers…but in the end it was revealed that the head of the council had been in league with the ones that hunted the empathy seers, that betrayal is a blight that the more honest and moral members of the council have worked tirelessly to rub out ever since," Wesley answered, his face downcast and weary, as he looked each person in the room in the eye, all except for Jocelyn.  

"Oh…," Jocelyn managed to get out through a clenched jaw as she looked over at Connor with a scared to death look on her face, almost begging for help.

"But don't worry, I have no intention on telling anyone about you…least of all the council," Wesley interjected with a slightly nervous but serious frown on his face as he gave Faith's hand a tight squeeze back.

"But if she was at Wolfram and Hart what were they doing with her, why isn't she dead," Oz asked with a confused frown on his face as he stood up and turned back towards Angel.  

"Who knows, they probably thought that they could use her powers to their advantage," Angel replied with a tired sigh and shrug of his shoulders as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Or more precisely it was because if memory serves empathy seers were almost never wrong about their predictions, to the point that there were those that viewed the empathy seer's as new age prophets sent by God himself," Wesley said with a very serious and somewhat concerned look on his face as Faith leaned in and laid her head on his shoulder and tried to keep the sickly feeling in her stomach at bay.

"So what happened to those…followers, when all of the empathy seers were killed, they had to go somewhere right…maybe some of them went to work for Wolfram and Hart," Kate asked at first with a worried and almost bitter scowl on her face before she finished with a half smile.  

"It's entirely possible, the council didn't have very good records of their names or numbers…," Wesley said with a growing look of concern and worry on his face as he scratched his chin with his right hand while slowly and carefully weaving his left through Faith's hair in an attempt to smooth it out.

"Okay…Wesley, I want you, Fred, and Faith to hit the books, try to find out everything you can about empathy seers while the rest of us see to Lindsey, Elaine's probably getting pretty worried right about now," Angel said with an authoritative tone to his voice as he slowly stood up and looked around the room.

"Right…," Everyone seemed to say in unison before dispersing to accomplish their unique tasks.

*                        *                          *                               *                           *                 *

Losing the real Lindsey had not been part of the plan.  The plan had been such that the real Lindsey was to be freed and used as bait for Angel's ill fated rescue attempt.  And just when it would look as if Angel would succeed the plan was to have called for an array of sunlight spells, pinning Angel in the hallway while letting the Kungai demons, vampires, and zombies separate him from the others.  But like most plans that hinged on a careful calculation of Angel's objective they had overlooked a small detail, that the disgraced watcher would have had the foresight to pack a transportation spell.  That small oversight had led to the rolling of many heads down the long hallways of Wolfram and Hart.  The blood and life essences of those deceased former employees was collected and amassed into a massive flu shot of sorts to tide the golem over until it could feed on the real Lindsey's life-force once more.  

"Are they all assembled…," The golem Lindsey growled with an angry grimace on its face as it struggled to push itself up and out of the wheelchair that it had been forced to use before the transfusion of the deceased's blood.

"Of course sir…we've pack them in as tight as we could get them, and there's a hundred or so more coming every three hours, don't worry all will be ready in time for the ceremony," Penn replied with a cocky grin on his face that hid beneath it a great amount of fear.

"It'd better…because if not your head won't be the only thing that you'll lose," The golem Lindsey snarled with an angry look on its face as it walked to the edge of the railing and looked down onto the many levels of the multilevel parking garage.  Stacked from floor to ceiling like in the old slave ships were corpses from every city and country in the world, thousands strong, all waiting to be unleashed upon the world.  

"Understood, but sir…is it time…," Penn said with a brave grin on his face as he stood at attention and tried to keep from aggravating the golem anymore than it already was.

"Yes…tomorrow night this world ends…," The golem Lindsey cackled with sinister delight before walking back of into the shadows, leaving a grinning and plotting Penn behind.

END OF CHAPTER 15


	16. Odd Remedies And Sad Memories

** THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created. **

**CHAPTER 16-ODD REMEDIES AND SAD MEMORIES**

"This is hopeless…," Faith moaned sadly with a tired and frustrated sigh as she looked up from the ancient tome that she had been trying to read and glanced over at no one in particular.

"Nothing is ever hopeless Faith," Wesley said with a slightly stern but reassuring tone to his voice as he reach a hand over and took Faith's hand that she had laid on her lap into his.

"Yeah…I mean no matter what's happened since I left Pylea we've been able to handle it…okay sometimes just barely and we nearly all die in the process but…I should stop talking…," Fred started to reply with an eager and cheerful smile on her face before she started to babble and at the end blushed deeply and turned her attention back to the ancient tome in front of her.  

"No Fred honey keep talking, you're on the right track," Lorne interjected with a chipper smirk on his face as he poked his head into the office and nodded his head.

"Have I mentioned how annoying he can be…," Faith grumbled with a sarcastic frown on her face as at the door a look of shock passed over Lorne's face before he let out a quick snicker and stepped inside the office.

"Oh…only about ten times today…ya know if you say it another few times you'll set a new record…," Lorne said with a slightly mocking tone to his voice as he pulled up a chair and sat down, an odd colored drink firmly in his left hand.

"Hey I…," Faith started to growl back angrily before she stopped abruptly and placed a hand on her stomach and winced sharply in pain.

"Faith…," Wesley shouted in alarm as he slid out of his chair and put an arm around Faith and drew her close, only to have her smile through the pain and try to wave him back.

"I…I'm, fine…Wes…just some cramps," Faith replied with a pained grimace on her face before she leaned into Wesley and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I thought as much…here drink this pumpkin, don't ask what it is because you don't want to know…but it should help you with the cramps," Lorne said, his voice full of worry and concern, as he leaned forward in his chair and set the drink in front of Faith.

"Wes…," Faith asked with a voice that sounded half like a nervous and worried rogue slayer and half like a scared little girl.

"It's okay Faith…trust me…," Wesley answered with what he hoped was his best reassuring tone of voice as he slowly began to brush the hair off of Faith's face.

"Okay…but if I grow another head I'm going to kill you…," Faith mumbled with a slightly threatening tone of voice as she shrugged her shoulders and sat up before picking up the glass.  

"Fair enough," Wesley added with an amused, but worried, smirk on his face before Faith brought the glass to her lips and downed its contents.

*                         *                      *                         *                         *                             *

"How is he," Angel asked softly as he stood in the doorway of the room that Lindsey had taken residence in.

"He'll be fine…I think…," Elaine answered with a very nervous and worried frown on her face as she tucked a few stray strands of hair back behind her ear.

"Yeah well Wes and the others are downstairs researching about Jocelyn right now but you probably shouldn't get to comfortable here," Angel said with a concerned frown on his face as he stepped inside the room and shut the door.

"Wait…what, you're throwing us out…but I thought…," Elaine asked with an every increasing look of disbelief and betrayal on her face before Angel grabbed her arms and forced him to look at him.

"I'm not throwing you or anyone else out Elaine, what I meant was that sooner or later…probably sooner, Wolfram and Hart is going to send someone…or something after us, and it'd be better for Lindsey if you two weren't here when they…or it shows up," Angel said with a very stern but not angry tone to his voice as Elaine cringed a bit at first before slowly calming down at the realization of what Angel had meant.

"But where are we supposed to go…I can't take him back to my apartment, they've probably ransacked it by now," Elaine asked with a nervous and worried frown on her face as Angel released her and paced to the other side of the room, his brows furrowed deep in thought.  The room remained silent for what felt like an hour before Angel got an idea.

"I think I know a place, it's somewhere that Wolfram and Hart used to do business…a shelter for street kids, I know the director there, she's nice and I doubt that she'll turn the two of you down…well…you anyway, I'm not sure how she feels about Lindsey though," Angel started to say slowly at first with almost a daring to believe in the validity of what he was saying before he looked full of cautious confidence near the end.

"What do you mean, how she feels about Lindsey…she's not his ex or anything…," Elaine asked with a confused and slightly shocked frown on her face as she first looked to Angel and then sat down on the bed beside Lindsey.

"No, she's not his ex, but back when I was trying to bring Lindsey down he tried to use her against me, but I was able to get her to see what he was doing, I don't think she's seen him since so I can't say what she'll do," Angel replied with a slightly nervous frown on his face as he ran a hand through his hair.

"But you can convince her right…to help Lindsey and me, she won't throw us out after you leave," Elaine asked with a very worried frown on her face as she glanced down at Lindsey.

"Anne won't throw you out Elaine, no matter how she feels about Lindsey it's not in her to throw someone out in need, but she might want you to help out with the kids, washing clothes and things like that," Angel replied with an optimistic look on his face as he walked around the bed to stand next to Elaine.

"I…I could do that," Elaine said with a slowly growing look of optimism on her face as she looked up at Angel.

"Good, I'll call Ann and make the arrangements, but you have to be ready to leave at a moments notice, we don't know when Wolfram and Hart are going to come after us…," Angel said with a serious tone of voice as he gave Elaine and Lindsey one final look before turning and walking out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

*                        *                         *                           *                             *                   *

"Do you have any family…mom, dad…," Cordelia asked with a worried frown on her face as she sat down on the bed beside Jocelyn, who visibly cringed a bit in fear.

"N…no, when I was seven my parents took me to a priest because they thought that I was possessed," Jocelyn replied with a somber frown on her face as she began to idly play around with the tips of her hair.

"I can emphasize…when I first started getting the visions I didn't know what was going on, luckily for me Angel and Wesley were around to help me through those first few weeks, I can only imagine what my good for nothing parents would have done if I had gotten the visions back in high school, my social life would have ground to a screeching halt," Cordelia said with a sympathetic look on her face as she softly patted Jocelyn on the shoulder.

"The priest that they took me to said that I wasn't possessed so my parents took me to a shrink, he told them that I was a schizo…," Jocelyn started to say with a nervous sigh before as she neared the next explanation of her past she had to stop to fight back the tears.

"It's okay Josey…," Connor said with a concerned but helpful frown on his face as he limped over to the bed and sat down next to Jocelyn.

"Pretty soon after that someone new came to talk to my parents, I didn't know it at the time but it was someone from Wolfram and Hart, they told my father that they could help me…my father politely declined their offer…the person from Wolfram and Hart was furious," Jocelyn said, a noticeable quiver in her voice hinting that she was getting near to the part of her story that she dreaded the most.  "Everything was fine for the next few days, sure I got a few flashes of the future but they weren't as powerful as the others…but then I got a flash that knocked me out completely, when I woke up I was in the nurses office with blood coming out of my eyes, nose, and ears…the nurse looked at me like I was a monster," Jocelyn added softly as she released her hold on the tips of her hair and began to scratch at a spot on her jeans.

"I've been lucky…all I get is killer migraines…no blood," Cordelia muttered softly with a nervous frown on her face as she felt the beginnings of unshed tears stinging her eyes.

"W…when they tried to call my parents…they didn't get an answer…I ended up having to stay with a friend for awhile, I didn't learn until later that my parents had been murdered in our garage that morning, the flash that I got that knocked me out…was…of their…I'm sorry I …," Jocelyn continued with at first a solitary tear slipping out before a steady stream of tears began to stream down her cheeks, interrupting her words.  As the sobs started to wrack her body she was comforted by Connor's strong arms around her and his kind words.  Stifling back tears of her own Cordelia stood up and went in search of Angel's shoulder to cry on.

*                       *                        *                                    *                      *                         *

"Miss Kate, did you always want to be a police officer," Groo asked softly with a nervous frown on his face as he stutter stepped up to Kate, who had sat down behind Cordelia's computer in an attempt to check on a few things.  Groo had to ask twice before she heard him.

"Huh…what, Groo," Kate asked with a slightly embarrassed smile on her face as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Did you always want to be a police officer, or did you want to be something else, I've learned that the people of this world often have stories of this kind, it helps them to relax…," Groo asked with now a gentle smile on his face, one that Kate was finding harder and harder not to smile back at.  For some reason whenever Groo smiled or laughed she couldn't help but joining in the merriment, even if she didn't find anything funny in it.  That coupled with how safe she felt being near him, like she finally had a rug under her feet that wasn't going to get pulled out from under her at the first sign of trouble.  The only time in her life that she had ever felt like that was back when she had adored her father completely and wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps.  But life had taught her some of its own very harsh lessons, and after she had left Los Angeles she had tried desperately to figure out if she had ever loved being a cop or if she had simply chosen that career path to please and be near her father.

"Uh yeah, pretty much ever since I was a little girl…guess it didn't hurt that my dad was a cop, you know at every police picnic all of my dad's friends always asked me when I was going to become a cop…you should have seen the look on my dads face when I told him that I wanted to be a police officer, he was so happy…," Kate replied with a nervous frown on her face that changed to a sad smile at the memories of her father.  Before she knew it the tears were forming their own river down her cheeks.  As she tried to wipe them away and dam them back up Groo instinctively wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a comforting embrace.  But rather than flinch and pull away like she had done to Angel and others in the past she relented and let the tears take their course.  

*                      *                           *                                 *                             *                     *

"So you work for Wolfram and Hart huh, how's that working out for you," Gunn asked with a nervous frown on his face as he and Arthur moved a table from one side of the room to another.  After a quick check on Lindsey and Elaine Arthur and Gunn had delved into the many rooms of the hotel, trying their best to make them ready for the confrontation that Angel was sure was coming.

"It paid the bills, but I made sure that I stayed out of all of the more…questionable dealings, but now none of that matters…although come to think of it when they come they'll probably be looking for me," Arthur answered with a nervous frown on his face as he began to pile boxes on top of the table.

"Guess that puts us all on their most wanted list, lucky us huh," Gunn said with a sarcastic smile on his face as he slid some more boxes under the table and looked up at Arthur.

"Lucky…right, anyone want to explain to me how any of this is lucky, they held me hostage for like months…I still have no idea what they did to me all of that time…and to make matters worse tonight's a full moon," Oz mumbled with an angry frown on his face as he leaned back up against the wall and crossed his arms.

"We'll find out what they did Daniel…all that I could gather was that whatever they wanted with you had to do with your being a werewolf," Arthur started to say with a tired shrug of his shoulders before a startled Gunn glanced up.

"Wait…what, you're a werewolf…," Gunn asked with a nervous and concerned frown on his face as he took a step back and wished that he had a weapon.

"Yeah…sorry thought you already knew," Oz said with a sad frown on his face as he sat back up and looked to Arthur.

"Nope…guess that little fact must have slipped right by me," Gunn joked with a nervous smile on his face before he bumped up against the far wall.

"Charles what…oh you needn't worry about Oz, he may be a werewolf but at long as he stays caged and chained up tonight then there'll be nothing to worry about, he'll be his old self by morning," Arthur said with a restrained laugh at the sight of Gunn slowly backing away from Oz.

"But we don't have a cage…or any chains…well Cordy or Faith probably do but…," Gunn started to babble in response as he tried to remain calm.

"Don't worry guys, I've got that all covered, I can stop myself from changing…I learned how from some monks that I met a few years ago, but I have to stay calm to do it…so I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be…," Oz interjected with a concerned look on his face as he stood up and shrugged his shoulders towards Gunn.  

"Well we'll think of something…we always do," Gunn said with a slightly more at ease look on his face as he walked back and helped Arthur lift a heavy box onto the top of the table.

*                          *                           *                              *                     *                    *

"Shit…," Faith exclaimed with her face scrunched up in disgust as she lurched backwards a bit in her seat and tried her best to spit the bad taste out of her mouth.

"Faith," Wesley asked with a concerned frown on his face as he looked back and forth between Faith and Lorne.

"What the hell was that…it tastes like shit…," Faith growled angrily as she slammed the glass back down onto the table with a loud enough crash that Fred cringed a bit and kept her gaze locked on the book in front of her.

"Faith I don't think that…," Wesley started to say with a concerned frown on his face as he turned to face an angry Faith.

"Oh yeah Wes…," Faith shouted with an angry scowl on her face before she grabbed Wesley and pulled him into a deep kiss.  When she let go of Wesley the former watcher spit and spattered at the taste with a look of disgust on his face.  "See…I told you," Faith mumbled with a proud of herself smile on her face.

"Lorne what…," Wesley sputtered out with a perturbed frown on his face as he tried to wipe what was left of the drink off of his lips.

"It was just an old family recipe…you don't know how hard it was to get the ingredients in this dimension…I had to substitute a few things but…," Lorne replied with a weak smile on his face as he seemed to be ready to bolt out of the room at a moments notice.

"I thought we agreed no more old family recipes, I'm still trying to forget about the last time that I…," Faith mumbled angrily as she ran her hands through her hair with a frustrated scowl on her face.

"We did didn't we…but…hey wait a minute sugarplum, you still feeling the cramps," Lorne started to say with a defeated frown on his face before he remembered his reason for entering the room in the first place and looked to Faith with a hopeful smile.

"What do you mean of course I…wait a minute…they're gone," Faith started to growl back angrily before she took a moment and then smiled as she finished her answer.

"Good…," Lorne said with a chipper smile on his face before he turned on his heel and left the office, whistling a happy tune as he went.   

"Okay…that was…weird," Faith said softly with an unsure frown on her face as she turned to Wesley and seemed to hope that he could shed some light on the situation.

"Yes…it was…but we should be thankful that the cramps are gone and continue our research," Wesley said softly with a nervous frown on his face before he reached a hand around Faith's waist and drew her close.

"Yeah…let's do that…," Faith mumbled with an unhappy frown on her face before she relaxed a bit and leaned into Wesley, comforted by their closeness.

"Ya know what…maybe Angel left some books upstairs…," Fred said with a somewhat nervous and uncomfortable frown on her face as she awkwardly stood up and left the office, not looking back at the confused stares of Wesley and Faith.  As she was about to climb the stairs Fred stopped when she looked up and saw a weary Angel comforting a crying Cordelia outside of Lindsey's room.

END OF CHAPTER 16


	17. Jocelyn's Past And A History Lesson

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 17-JOCELYN'S PAST AND A HISTORY LESSON**

"It's the eyes…," Cordelia said softly with a warm smile on her face as she leaned on the counter and stared over at Kate.

"Huh…," Kate exclaimed with a caught off guard frown on her face as she sat up in her chair and turned to Cordelia, away from staring at Groo.

"Groo…it's his eyes, you can just get totally lost in them if you're not careful," Cordelia added with a merry smirk on her face as she tried her best to keep from laughing at the nervous look on Kate's face.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Kate mumbled back with an angry scowl on her face as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"Sure you do, you were just ogling Groo…not that I blame you but…," Cordelia said with a slight snicker before she started to walk around the counter.

"I was not, I was…damn…," Kate started to say with a very nervous and uncomfortable smile on her face before she relented and dropped her head into her hands.

"Hey…come on now, it's nothing to be ashamed of…he's a great guy, a little overbearing and smothering at times…but damn if I know a more loyal…," Cordelia said with a joking grin on her face as she pulled a chair up beside Kate, who had resumed staring at Groo who was busy talking something over with Oz.

"Okay…God, I get the message alright, so what am I supposed to do about it," Kate asked with a frustrated and nervous frown on her face as she refused to look at Cordelia.

"Simple Kate, love him and let him love you," Cordelia said with a slightly cheesy smirk on her face before she patted Kate on the shoulder and then stood up.

"But…what if he…," Kate forced out through what felt like a jaw of iron as fear gripped her heart and she tried to keep her outer appearance that of complete calm, an attempt at which she failed miserably.

"Look I already told you he does…anyone and their dog can see it…so relax," Cordelia replied with a nervous laugh before she turned and walked away, leaving a confused Kate sitting in front of Cordelia's computer.

*                      *                           *                                   *                    *                       *

"This is going to sound really stupid I know but…are we there yet…," Elaine asked with a worried and almost panic-stricken look on her face as she leaned in closer to a groggy Lindsey while looking to Gunn in the front seat.  After consoling Cordelia for a few moments Angel had torn himself away long enough to make the call that he hoped would give him piece of mind and Elaine and Lindsey safety.  Luckily for everyone involved Anne had agreed, although a bit reluctantly after being told who she would be taking in, to help.  

"Almost…take it easy girl, you'll both be safe once you're in Annie's care, she's never let me down yet," Gunn replied with a nervous smile on his face as he tried to keep his level of nervousness out of his voice.  From the look that Gunn saw pass over Elaine's face in the rearview mirror he expected her to come back with a quick retort or another question.  But this time she only gave him a half smile before she snuggled in closer to Lindsey.

"Are you sure that this is the best plan Charles…I mean there have to be other options that we haven't considered yet," Fred asked with a nervous and impatient frown on her face as she reached over and laid a hand on Gunn's shoulder.

"Bossman said for Elaine and Lindsey to hide out with Annie…sounds like as good a plan as any to me Fred," Gunn replied with a nervous frown on his face as he pushed on the brake.

"I know, it's just that I have this sinking feeling…like Angel's preparing to go down with the ship…so to speak," Fred said with a very worried frown on her face as she looked to first Gunn and then back out of her window.  Gunn started to say something but then changed his mind, causing the rest of the trip to the teen shelter to be done in almost total silence.  

*                   *                       *                               *                              *                             *

After Gunn and Fred had left with Lindsey and Elaine Angel had gone into almost constant mother hen mode, meticulously checking every window and door to make sure that they were locked and secure.  Before he had left Gunn had helped Arthur and Oz convert one of the hotels innermost rooms into a virtual fortress with all of the tables, dressers, and other items of furniture pressed up against the walls.  It was in this room that Angel would place those that he deemed not able or in no condition to fight the upcoming battle.  Lorne had nearly ran into the room with a tall drink in one hand and a crossbow in the other.  Oz had also grabbed a crossbow but added a knife to finish off his weaponry.  It had taken Angel almost ten full minutes to decide what weapon to give to Cordelia, finally settling on one of his sturdiest spears with the sharpest tip.  The former cheerleader had reluctantly accepted the spear and trudged into the fortified room.  Kate had somehow come into possession of a gun but armed herself with a sword also, just to be on the safe side.  By the time that Cordelia and the others went into the specially made up room Connor's knee had healed enough so that all he had was a slight, but noticeable limp.  Jocelyn's eyes had been huge and filled with tears when Angel had tried to hand her a crossbow.  At first the empathy seer had refused and weapon with a terrified look on her face.  When asked she had related a story about how months earlier she had been in a similar situation as part of a Wolfram and Hart training exercise to see if her powers were in any way offensive.  They had placed a crossbow in her hands, going so far as to threaten her that if she didn't take the weapon that they'd kill her.

After a fair amount of tears she had taken the crossbow and huddled as tightly as she could into the darkest corner of the room.  She had no intent on complying with the game but later on as she was trying to escape her pursuers she had tripped over a fallen brick and crashed to the floor, receiving a nasty gash on her chin that even through Wolfram and Hart's healers had left a tiny, barely noticeable scar.  But the scar had only been the beginning, as when she tripped she had lost control of her crossbow, and by some twist of fate the weapon had gotten turned around. So when her finger nicked the trigger the bolt flew straight into the heart of the nearest pursuer.  For the next several hours she had felt like her head was going to explode, every single emotion, no matter how miniscule, was sent ramrod ding through her brain and nervous system.  It had taken almost three weeks before she could even walk again.  The Wolfram and Hart doctors had told her that if she were to ever stab someone to death with a knife or kill someone by a similar method that required being closer to the victim than the man that had died from the crossbow bolt she most likely would have died.

After that a nervous and surprisingly scared Connor had looked up at Angel and almost begged his father not to give her a weapon.  Of course with Connor all of the begging was completely contained in his eyes.  With only a second or two of thought Angel put the crossbow back into the weapons cabinet and picked out an old mace and laid it in Jocelyn's hands.  When she started to look up and protest Connor put a hand on her shoulder and slowly led her away from Angel and towards the fortified room.  Because of his enhanced vampire hearing Angel could hear Connor taking the time to try to both calm Jocelyn down and at the same time reassure her that she wouldn't be fighting anyone.

"Well this looks like a scene from a bad after school special," Faith said with a sarcastic frown on her face as she lightly bumped shoulders with Wesley.

"When does the fighting commence," Groo asked with the mischievous grin on his face that Angel had first seen in Pylea. 

"We're not exactly sure Groo, but with recent events being as they are I doubt that we'll have to wait very long," Wesley replied with a very serious and stern look on his face as he walked over to the weapons chest and set about picking out his weapons of choice.

"Hey…save some for me," Faith called out with a slightly angry frown on her face as she rushed to Wesley's side and the two almost began to fight for a couple of knives before Angel stepped in and took the two blades for himself.

"If you two children are through playing around it's time to get down to business," Angel said without the slightest hint of jocular feeling in his tone of voice as he glared at the expecting couple.

"Sorry…," A deflated Wesley and Faith said in unison with sad looks on their faces before they finished getting their weapons and Wesley shut the cabinet's doors.

"Okay…they'll probably come straight through the front doors, your basic frontal assault, but Groo I want you at the front doors to keep lookout, Wesley you take the garden, while Faith, Groo, Connor, and I will stay in the lobby…out of sight, until someone shows up," Angel said with a very serious and nervous frown on his face before he gripped his sword tighter and ran up the steps.

"Be careful," Wesley whispered softly to Faith with a very heartfelt look in his eyes before Faith wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and yanked him down into one of the most passionate kisses that Wesley had ever experienced.  Wesley was almost out of breath, and guessing that Faith was in nearly the same predicament, before she released her hold on him.

"You to…I love you," Faith whispered back with a very worried look on her face as she almost seemed to be fighting back a tear or two.

"I love you to," Wesley said back with a very serious but also loving look on his face as he softly caressed Faith's right cheek before turning away and running out of the hotel and into the garden, axe at ready.  Angel started to go to his hiding spot before he noticed that Connor hadn't moved since Wesley and Faith had exchanged their kiss.

"Connor, what is it, what's wrong," Angel asked with a worried frown on his face as he laid a hand on Connor's shoulder while Faith sniffled a bit before positioning herself behind the counter.

"It's just…when I was in Quartoth…fath…Holtz told me about love, but I'd never really seen it fully up close before…," Connor replied with an astounded gasp to his voice as he watched Faith crouch behind the counter, trying to keep an eye on the doors leading to the garden, ready to help Wesley at a moments notice.

"Well you just saw it Connor, love is a beautiful thing…especially true love, at the same time it can be the greatest thing in the world…and the worst…but as some guy once said, it's better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all," Angel said with an almost fatherly smile on his face before Connor nodded his head with a look of restrained agreement on his face.

"I guess you're right…what do you think they'll send after us," Connor asked with now a concerned scowl on his face, indicating that he was ready to fight.

"Who knows with them Connor, but I wouldn't be surprised if they sent some more zombies after us, with Penn and some vampires leading them," Angel replied with a nervous frown on his face as he patted Connor lightly on the shoulder.

"Who's Penn again…," Faith asked with a concerned frown on her face as she popped her head up over the top of the counter and looked over at Connor and Angel.

"A vampire that I used to know…actually I sired him a long time ago…but a few years ago Kate dusted him, Wolfram and Hart brought him back, probably to try to hurt me," Angel answered with a grim scowl spread across his face as he turned to look at Faith, avoiding Connor's confused gaze.

"Is this Penn dangerous," Groo asked softly as he momentarily glanced back towards the direction of the room where Kate and the others were entrenched.

"Not really, he likes to talk big and do more scheming that anyone that I've ever known…except me, but other than that he's just your average run of the mill vampire, stake through the heart…problem solved," Angel answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders as he walked up to the Hyperion's front doors and looked out.

*                      *                     *                                 *                        *                          *

The sun had just slipped beneath the far horizon when Gunn pulled Angel's car up in front of the shelter.  He wasted little time in getting Lindsey inside, although with only Fred and Elaine to help him it took longer than he would have liked it to have taken.  Anne had opened the door to the mission expecting to see a confidant and smug Lindsey striding through with his usual smile plastered across his face.  She was so sure of which Lindsey would come through the door that when she opened it Gunn could see the very serious and stern scowl up on her face.  But that scowl had almost instantly disappeared when her gaze fell on the groggy Lindsey who looked like death warmed over coupled with the almost panic-stricken Elaine at his side.  In almost no time she had gotten some of the kids from the shelter to help Gunn carry Lindsey up to one of the open rooms on the second floor.

"What's wrong with him," Anne asked with a well masked frown of worry on her face as Gunn softly closed the door behind him.

"We're not exactly sure…Wes said that Wolfram and Hart were using him to power some magical creature…," Gunn replied with a nervous sigh as he turned and looked down at Anne, who had cut her hair shorter.  

"You mean like a battery," Anne added with a nervous and slightly confused frown on her face as she leaned back up against the wall, avoiding the old painting that hung on the wall in between two of the rooms.

"Yep…but don't ask me how it works…all that hocus pocus is out of my league," Gunn said with a slight nod of his head as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"So who's she…the woman with him," Anne asked softly as she shifted her gaze from Gunn's face to a spot on the ceiling.

"Here name's Elaine…she was the one that let us in on Wolfram and Hart's secret about Lindsey…that and she's head over heels in love with the guy…," Gunn replied with a surprised laugh before he turned his head down the hall as a nervous Fred walked up.

"And from little we saw of them together I'd say that the feeling is most likely mutual," Fred added with a nervous smile on her face as laid her head on Gunn's shoulder.

"Well wonderful for them…but now are we going to be attacked by zombie cops again…because I'm still trying to straighten all of that out," Anne said with a frustrated sigh before she pushed away from the wall and crossed her arms.

"Zombie cops…," Fred whispered softly with a confused frown on her face as she looked up into Gunn's eyes.

"I'll tell you about it later Fred…sorry Annie but I don't know what's coming this time, hopefully they won't even know that we're here and nothing will happen," Gunn answered softly at first with a nervous smile to Fred before his expression became much more serious as he shifted his gaze to Anne.

"Yeah well I've heard that before…," Anne said with a rather pessimistic frown on her face before she nodded politely to Gunn and Fred and then headed off back downstairs.

"Now about those zombie cops…," Fred said with a very determined frown on her face as she crossed her arms and set her feet, glaring upward at a nervous and smiling Gunn.

*                *                           *                                   *                     *                     *

"Anything yet Wes," Angel asked softly in a hushed whisper as he leaned in closer to the column adjacent to the one that Wesley was hiding behind.

"Nothing yet…except for the large rat that was being chased by an alley cat…if you hurry you might be able to catch it…," Wesley replied with a frustrated smirk on his face as he shrugged his shoulders and squatted down.

"Funny Wes…," Angel mumbled back with a slightly angry scowl on his face as he took a peek around the corner of the column but didn't see anything.

"How's Faith…," Wesley asked softly as the tone of his voice became much more serious and Angel could smell the worry that radiated off of the former watcher.  Many times over the years Angel had smelled Wesley's fear before going into a situation, but it had never stopped Wesley before and had almost always been a fear for his own safety.  But now the fear smelled a little different, as if he no longer cared what happened to him as long as Faith was okay.

"Faith…you know her…she'll be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid and make it through this…," Angel replied with a wide grin at the end before his usual trademark frown regained its place on his face.

"Well I'll try not to get myself killed okay," Wesley said in almost a mocking tone of voice before he grinned and turned to Angel.

"I'm serious Wes…I've never seen her this scared, even back when I rescued you from that apartment before she went to jail, she was scared that night but…," Angel added with a very serious and almost threatening scowl on his face as he bore a hole through Wesley with his gaze.

"I know…I hate that she so scared but there's nothing that I can do aside from not dying tonight and being there for her whenever she needs me," Wesley said with a deep look of sadness and worry on his face as he stood back up and stretched his neck.

"Don't worry, once we clear up this mess with Wolfram and Hart I'm hoping that things will begin to get better…besides pretty soon fighting demons and deciphering ancient cryptic texts is going to be the least of your worries, you'll both be to busy changing diapers and giving baths to do much fighting," Angel said with an almost consoling smirk on his face as he crept through the shadows to stand beside Wesley.

"That will be a good time Angel, after all of the heartache, death, and destruction that we've seen it'll be good to have something to celebrate, and I swear if I find anymore prophecies I'll share them with the rest of the class…and…," Wesley interjected with a happy smile on his face before a noise from the area of the garden gate caught his attention and instantly he and Angel went silent, mentally and physically preparing themselves for anything.  They didn't have to wait very long before a trio of Vahrall demons slowly crept through the open gate, followed closely behind by what looked like a pair of Fyarl demons.

"And so it begins…," Angel mumbled softly under his breath, only loud enough for Wesley to hear, before he used his vampire stealth to get back across the space between the columns.  The battle began with a flash of steel as Angel hurled one of the knives that Wesley and Faith had been battling over earlier straight at the closest Vahrall demon.

END OF CHAPTER 17


	18. How We Doing, Not So Good Boss

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 18-HOW WE DOING, NOT SO GOOD BOSS**

Her worst fears and all of her worries ran in front of her eyes as because of her slayer hearing Faith could hear the battle going on in the garden.  Faith had always hated there being a battle that she couldn't participate in with the stakes as high as they were now.  More than anything she wanted to go and help her two best friends in the world.  But her love for the two fighters in the garden kept her cemented to her spot behind the counter, clutching her short sword tight to her body.  Groo was concealed behind the plants at the front doors, axe in hand, and Connor was on edge, sitting in the doorway to Angel's office.  The sounds from the garden had not gone unnoticed by either Groo or Connor.  Groo had taken an initial step to go and help Angel and Wesley but then had glanced down at the floor, remembered his orders, and returned to his post.  For his part Connor had actually gone so far as to walk into the center of the lobby so that he could get a good look at what was happening out in the garden.  Faith had harshly yelled at him to get back to his position and at first he had acted as if he hadn't heard her.  But then Connor had shrugged his shoulders, gotten a better grip on his sword, and returned to the doorway of Angel's office.

"We should be out there helping them," Connor said with a very frustrated and anxious frown on his face as he stood up and looked over towards Faith, who had popped her head up above the counter to get a good look around.

"No Connor we shouldn't, Angel told us to stay here to guard the front doors and that's exactly what we're going to do, besides Wesley and Angel can take almost anything save maybe a little commitment…although Wes…," Faith said harshly as she stood up far enough to then sit down in the chair that sat behind the counter, allowing her to be able to scan the entire lobby instead of waiting for something to happen.

"Often gets into things that are way over his head…a lot like my dad…like last week he…," Connor started to say with a grim smile on his face before a dead Vahrall demon crashed through the doors to the garden, violently wrenching the left door from its hinges as glass flew everywhere.  Connor was instantly back in the center of the lobby, sword up and ready for battle.  "Dad…," Connor shouted above the noise before first Wesley and then Angel came flying through the other door, sending a shower of glass towards Connor.

"Wesley," Faith shouted nearly at the top of her lungs as she vaulted over the counter and rushed to the side of the bloody watcher.

"I'm okay…," Wesley stammered out with a pained wince on his face as he struggled to get back up to his knees, aided greatly by Faith's strong arm.

"Yeah and I'm Ethel Merman," Faith grumbled back with a sarcastic look of panic and worry on her face as she helped a slightly shaky Wesley back to his feet before the two Fyarl demons charged, shoulder to shoulder, into the lobby.  At their backs were what looked like at least a dozen zombies, flanked by a few vampires for good measure.

"Funny…you don't look like…," Angel said with a nervous frown on his face after he jumped back to his feet and picked his sword up before one of the Fyarl demons charged at him.  Angel dove and rolled out of the way and expected the Fyarl demon to chase after him.  But he was taken by surprise at the sight of the Fyarl demon slumping to the floor with Groo's axe firmly embedded in its chest.

"Angel," Groo shouted in alarm as he rushed forward and dove at the nearest pair of vampires, taking them both to the ground before Connor used his sword to block a swing from the remaining Fyarl demon.  The next few moments were a blur to Angel as the remaining Fyarl demon tried its best to bash Connor's skull in while Wesley and Faith tore into the zombies, looking more than a little like a pair on a reckless revenge trip that'd probably have gotten them killed if Faith hadn't been pregnant.

*                             *                       *                      *                      *                            *

Inside of the reinforced room Jocelyn sat in the exact center of the room, an equal distance away from all of the walls. It was an attempt to try to limit the hurricane of emotions and memories that she was sure to come her way once the battle started.  Arthur sat at her side, idly flipping through the day's paper, something that he had brought in with him to try and help pass the time.  Oz sat up against the wall furthest from the door with his crossbow lying across his lap and his knife being used to carve designs on the tops of the box that he was sitting on.  Kate had propped herself up front and center, gun drawn, in the event that someone or something made it past Angel and others and found the secured room.  Cordelia sat nearby, using the sharp tip of the spear to try to clean the dirt out from underneath her fingernails.  After trying to calm Jocelyn's frayed nerves for awhile Lorne had made himself a place in a pile of boxes and tables against the far wall and had just closed his eyes to go to sleep when Angel and Wesley had been thrown back into the lobby.

"What was that…," Oz asked with a concerned frown on his face as he stopped carving a doodle into the top of the box that he was sitting on.

"I didn't hear anything," Kate said with a nervous and unsure look on her face as she kept her eyes on the barricaded door in front of her.

"Me either…it's probably just the wind or something Oz…," Cordelia stammered out with a fake uncaring smile on her face and shrug of her shoulders.

"It was something Cordelia, I know it was…remember how when Spike kidnapped Willow and Xander I…," Oz started to say in return with an unhappy frown on his face as he hopped down off of the box that he had been sitting on and grabbed his crossbow.

"Okay alright already…it's something, but what…Lorne," Cordelia sighed with an annoyed frown on her face as the seer threw her hands up in exasperation before using the spear to stand up.

"Oh no…don't look at me, I'm not going out there," Lorne pleaded with a slightly frightened smile on his face as he desperately tried to look for something to busy himself with.

"No one asked you to Lorne…but if I had to hazard a guess as to the progress of the battle I'd have to say that it's fully underway and that we should sit here and wait until we get the all clear," Arthur said with an anxious frown on his face as he put a comforting arm around Jocelyn and helping to steady her shaking hands.

"Right, but remind me again what we're supposed to do if they all get killed out there and we just sit in here…waiting…and waiting…," Kate asked with a very serious frown on her face as she cast a quick look back over her shoulder.

"Hey…don't think like that, they'll all survive and they'll come and get us…we just can't give up hope…," Cordelia declared with an angry and confidant scowl on her face as she pounded the bottom of the spear on the ground and glared around at everyone in the room before turning her gaze towards the center of the room and Arthur and Jocelyn.

"But what if hope's already given up on us Cordelia…what then…," Jocelyn said softly, almost in a whisper, with an unhealthy look of worry on her face as she tried to keep from sobbing into Arthur's shoulder.

"Then…we're dead…," Oz mumbled with a sarcastic smile on his face as he shrugged his shoulders before stifling a laugh.

*                             *                              *                          *                    *                     *

"Okay Charles enough stalling, tell me about the zombie cops," Fred said with a very serious look on her face as she sat down on the top step beside Gunn, as the two planned to stay in between the room where Elaine and Lindsey were and anything that tried to get to them.  

"If it'll get you to stop looking at me like I'm some kind of criminal then I'll tell you…so do you want the long or the short of it," Gunn said with a deep sigh as he leaned back up against the railing and closed his eyes.

"Since I'm already tired I'll say the short of it…but don't leave out anything important," Fred said with a slight nod of her head as she poked Gunn in the chest and smiled.

"Okay…a few months before we all came and rescued you from Pylea Anne showed up and asked for my help with a problem that some of the local kids had been having with some overzealous cops…I agreed to help and when we tried to get some dirt on the bad cops one of them shot Wesley, then they followed us back here and stormed the place, but Angel managed to find out who was controlling the zombie cops and put a stop to it, right as one of them was about to slap a set of handcuffs on yours truly," Gunn replied with a nervous frown on his face as he recounted the tale while Fred's eyes grew extra wide at the mention of Wesley getting shot as Gunn could see his girlfriend filing that little tidbit away to ask the former watcher about later.

"My…God…I…Wesley…now Charles Gunn you tell me…how different is the long version of that story, you didn't leave anything important out did you," Fred mumbled softly to herself at first with a shocked look on her face before she refocused herself and put her hand on Gunn's chest, keeping him back up against the railing.

"Well…uh there was the part about Angel going bad, firing Cordy, Wes, and me…Wes getting shot when he tried to stop me from going through with my plan…and that it took a nice chunk of dough to get it all cleaned up," Gunn said with a nervous smile on his face before Fred seemed satisfied with what he had told her and leaned back up against the wall and crossed her arms.

"So why didn't you tell me any of this earlier," Fred asked with a nervous and slightly scared look on her face as she looked at the step in between them.

"Didn't think it was anything that important…," Gunn replied with a sad frown on his face as he reached up and scratched the back of his right ear.  Gunn winced openly at the look of sadness, frustration, and outright rage that flashed across Fred's face before she reached out and gave him a quick jab in the ribs.  "Hey…," Gunn exclaimed with a shocked and nervous look on his face as he lightly rubbed the spot where Fred had hit him.

"Not important…how can one of my best friends getting shot while trying to save your stupid ass not be important," Fred shouted with an angry scowl on her face before she seemed to realize fully what she had said and rushed down the stairs, shutting herself in the first room that she came to before Gunn could do anything.

"Everything okay," Elaine asked with a scared smile on her face as she slowly crept closer to Gunn, making sure though to keep enough distance between the two as from below Gunn heard the sound of the door that Fred had slammed shut lock.

"Does it look like everything's okay Elaine…," Gunn shouted loudly with a very angry and frustrated look on his face as he turned his gaze upwards to Elaine, glaring a hole through the young woman with his gaze.

"No…," Elaine said almost in a whimper as she tried her best to shrink back up against the wall while slowly backing away from Gunn and then disappearing back around the corner.

"Great…can this night get any worse…," Gunn started to say with a frustrated scowl on his face as he looked skyward before a loud crash from somewhere downstairs tore through the shelter.

*                        *                            *                    *                          *                       *

"Do you think that was it…," Groo asked with a nervous frown on his face as he pulled his axe free from the rotting corpse of a long dead lawyer.

"Nnh…probably not, most likely this was just the first wave," Wesley said with a painful wince as he tried to take a deep breath but had to stop because of the pain.

"How do you feel," Faith asked with a worried look on her face as she sat down next to Wesley and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Like a bloody elephant did a tap dance on my ribs," Wesley added with another wince, one that made Faith's eyes tear up before she steeled herself and smiled.

"What are these creatures," Groo asked with a confused but serious look on his face as he knelt down beside the body of one of the Fyarl demons.  

"Well those two big blokes are Fyarl demons…they're your basic hired muscle type of demons, strong as hell but they give new meaning to the word dumb…and those ugly bastards outside, the ones with the spiked hair and all that are Vahrall demons, not to special just mean buggers, and you know about vampires of course, but then we come to the zombies, a simple explanation would be magically reanimated corpses brought back to life to fulfill some specific and specialized purpose decreed to them by a shaman or witchdoctor of some sort, no recognizable brain patterns but still stubborn as hell," Wesley replied with a nervous sigh as he nodded towards each different enemy in his description to Groo with his head.

"That's the simple explanation," Angel asked with a confused smirk on his face as he turned his head to look at the former watcher.

"Actually Angel, that's the incredibly simplified version, I wish that you could have seen the essay that I had to write about the differences between the North American Fyarl demon and the South American Fyarl demon, it was over fifty pages long, and I hadn't even gotten to their reproductive practices yet so…," Wesley answered with a tired smile on his face as he leaned back and wrapped an arm around Faith's waist, drawing her close.

"I think that's enough information for now Wes," Faith interjected with a slightly overwhelmed and sarcastic smile on her face before she fully stopped Wesley from talking by grabbing the back of his head and pulling him into a long and drawn out kiss, one filled both with relief for the two being alive and the sexual energy that was burning through the pair.  For a few moments Angel and the others stared in an almost confused wonder, as one would stare at a carnival freak, before turning away and trying to come up with something to say, except for Groo, who bore a sad frown on his face.

"Okay…anyone hurt…besides Wesley," Angel asked, desperately trying to change the subject and get away from the sight of Faith and Wesley still kissing.

"I'm fine…," Groo said with a slight nod of his head as he kept his attention focused on Wesley and Faith, who remained lip locked.

"Don't they have to come up for air…," Connor asked Angel softly under his breath with a slightly scared and unsure frown on his face as he leaned in close to his father.

"One would think so Connor, but with those two…you never know," Angel replied with a nervous and slightly petrified shrug of his shoulders before Faith and Wesley finally broke the kiss.  After several seconds of staring solely at each other Faith and Wesley slowly noticed that everyone in the lobby was staring at them.

"What…," Faith asked with a nervous and slightly confused frown on her face as she looked around at everyone staring at her.

"How do you two…," Connor started to ask with a thoroughly confused look on his face before he noticed the look on Angel's face and turned away.  

"The sun will be up in a few hours so we'll be safe then, at least from the zombies, but we need to come up with a way to stop the zombies altogether," Angel said with a very serious frown on his face as he laid a hand on Connor's shoulder and squeezed.

"More than likely the zombies are all being controlled by either a very powerful magic spell of some kind or a magical totem of some kind," Wesley said with a deep in thought frown on his face as he walked over and sat down behind the counter in the chair that Faith had been sitting in earlier, pulling a few stray volumes to him.

"You mean like that time with the zombie cops…the idol to the zombie god," Angel mused with a serious look of thought on his face as he walked over and leaned forward onto the counter.

"Not exactly, if Wolfram and Hart has as many zombies under its employ as I think it does then…," Wesley started to say with a very concerned frown on his face before Groo walked over and interrupted him.  

"We are all in great danger," Groo said softly with a very determined frown on his face as he began to examine his axe.

"Well no…yes, what I meant was that whatever they're controlling the zombies with would have to be huge, and I don't mean huge in the sense of importance, but huge as in it's size and the power it has to give off, it's probably right under our nose," Wesley added with a nervous frown on his face before Faith walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her chin on his shoulder.

"We'll find it Wes, don't worry…we will," Faith whispered softly into Wesley's ear before she leaned in a little closer and began to seductively nibble on his earlobe, eliciting a sly grin from Wesley and again odd looks from everyone else in the lobby.

"Will you two cut that out before Connor's eyes blow right out of his head…," Angel grumbled with a frustrated scowl on his face before he ran a nervous hand through his hair and continued.  "Okay so Wolfram and Hart have set up some giant zombie controlling statue…or sculpture somewhere and we have to find out where it is, sooner rather than later…," Angel added with a very serious look on his face as he turned away from the counter and began to pace around the room.

"Or else the world will be sucked down into the tenth layer of hell…literally," Faith chimed in with a nervous smile on her face before she slid around and sat down across Wesley's lap, leaving one arm still draped around his neck.

"We're not going to allow that to happen," Connor declared with a very serious scowl on his face as he wiped his sword clean on the garment that one of the dead Vahrall demons was wearing.

"You're right Connor, we're not…but first we have to get rid of these bodies," Angel said with a slightly nervous frown on his face as his gaze swept over the pile of bodies.

"Why don't we just leave them, if you're right Angel and that was just the first wave then I say that we should save our energy and get ready for whatever's next," Faith said with a serious look on her face as she turned her head to look over at Angel while Wesley used his free hand, the one that wasn't wrapped tightly around Faith's waist, to flip through a couple of pages in the ancient volume that he was looking through.

"Whether or not there's another wave coming isn't what's important Faith, what's important is…do you know how hard it is to get the smell of dead Vahrall demon's out of a room," Angel started to reply back with an almost angry frown on his face before his train of thought departed him and he had to stumble through the rest of his rebuttal.  

"I will help you Angel," Groo said with a sincere smile on his face as he laid his axe on the counter and walked over towards the pile of dead demons and zombies.

"See…at least someone agrees with me," Angel sighed softly with a frustrated and unsure smile on his face as he shrugged his shoulders before turning around to help Groo.

"So what are we supposed to do in the time being," Connor asked softly with a nervous frown on his face as he turned away from watching Angel and Groo carry the corpses outside.

"Well…Faith and I will stay here and try to come up with some means of finding how Wolfram and Hart are controlling the zombies, see if we can figure out some way to discern the location of this said…object, and how to destroy it…you should stay at the front doors and act as a lookout, if only to make sure that we're not taken by surprise by the second wave of demons and whatnot," Wesley said with a serious look on his face as he barely lifted his head to look up at Connor before he turned his attention back to the book in front of him on the desk.

"Okay…," Connor replied with an emotionless frown on his face before he picked his sword up and rushed back to the front doors, peering out through the windows with his sword at ready.

"That kid needs to relax a bit or else he won't make it past twenty," Faith mumbled under her breath to Wesley with a sly smile on her face.

"You're evil you know that," Wesley mumbled back to her with a sly grin of his own as he turned and found himself looking deep into Faith's eyes.

"Yeah but that's why you love me so much…," Faith whispered back with a slight snicker before she leaned in and planted another welcoming kiss on Wesley's lips, reluctant to pull away.

"You mean it's not because of how good your ass looks in that nurse's outfit…," Wesley snickered back with a smug grin on his face before Faith glared at him.  But through that glare Wesley could see that there was no anger involved, simply Faith trying to keep up the tough girl image that she had made up for herself.

"Well enjoy it while you can pal…because pretty soon my ass is going to…," Faith started to say with a fake look of anger on her face before a loud explosion rocked the front doors of the Hyperion, sending Connor flying back through the air before he crashed into Groo and Angel as they were picking up one of the Fyarl demons.

*                        *                         *                                   *                      *                       *

Gunn was back up on his feet and charging down the stairs before Elaine could even come back around the corner to see what was going on.  After their short exchange Elaine had been headed back towards the room where Lindsey was resting in when she heard the loud crash from somewhere downstairs.  She only caught sight of the top of Gunn's head as he rushed down the stairs before she hurried to the top of the stairs, expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

"Anne," Gunn shouted in alarm as he rushed through the commons area of the shelter and headed towards where he had heard the crash come from. He hadn't gone to far when he was met by a rush of kids in their attempts to get as far away from the kitchen as they could.

"Gunn…what's going on, what was that noise," Anne shouted with a terrified and confused frown on her face as she burst through a nearby doorway and caught up to Gunn as he neared the kitchen.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing…stay behind me," Gunn replied with a nervous and unsure frown on his face as he got to the kitchen and motioned for Anne to stay behind him for her own safety.  The two were almost there when the kitchen door flew open. 

END OF CHAPTER 18


	19. Battle Royale And Trouble Coping

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 19-BATTLE ROYALE AND TROUBLE COPING**

The force of the blast not only blew Connor across the lobby but also knocked Wesley and Faith back away from the counter and almost through the wall behind them.  Angel recovered quickly from being knocked to the ground by a flying Connor while Groo could only sit up and look around in astonishment before an equally powerful blast erupted from its epicenter at the doors to the garden.  Angel was thrown like a rag doll through the air and across the lobby before landing hard against the far wall.  Connor though had managed to hold onto enough debris and the remaining corpses so that he stayed where he was, despite feeling like someone was repeatedly pounding on an anvil in his brain.  Groo was showered with razor sharp slivers of broken wood, plaster, and glass as he tried his best to cover up.  Though Wesley and Faith only got a glancing blow, it was all it took to send them crashing through the double doors that led to Angel's office.

"Connor," Angel shouted with a worried look on his face as he struggled back to his feet and tried to clear away the cloud of dust that had swarmed around him.

"I'm…here," Connor replied softly through gritted teeth as he gingerly picked himself up off of the floor and turned back to look at his father.

"I am here as well," Groo added with a very uncomfortable scowl on his face as he grabbed his axe and picked himself up off of the floor to a kneeling position.

"Ah Angelus…glad to see you still in one piece, to bad you won't be for long," A very smug Penn exclaimed loudly as he slowly sauntered into the ruined lobby and looked around.

"Penn…," Angel growled with a very angry scowl on his face before he slipped into his game face and charged.  Penn kept the smug grin on his face as long as he could before Angel got to within two feet of him.  Taking Angel by surprise Penn dissolved into a cloud of mist, allowing Angel to careen on straight into a pile of debris.

"Bloody hell…," Wesley cursed with an angry scowl on his face as he picked himself and Faith up off of the floor and pushed away the broken shards of the double doors.

"What the hell was that," Faith growled with an angry look on her face as she and Wesley staggered back out into the lobby.

"No clue…but I think that we," Wesley started to say with a nervous shrug of his shoulders before a sea of Wolfram and Hart guards, armed with everything from swords to baseball bats, rushed into the lobby and charged.

*                            *                            *                         *                          *                        *

Gunn only had moments to react as he charged towards the kitchen door.  He had to ready himself to either fight and ultimately kill whatever demon or other big bad that was behind the door or bring his frayed nerves and muscles under control and not kill whatever it was that was coming out of the kitchen.  Unfortunately for Anne and the other needy teens at the shelter what burst through the kitchen door was anything but tame or friendly.  Instead what burst out of the kitchen was a demon that Gunn didn't recognize.  The demon was about twice Gunn's size, reminding the street fighter of the demon Deevac that Angel had killed a few years earlier

"Gunn," Anne shouted in pure panic as she and the teens furiously tried to scramble out of the demon's way.  

"Anne…stay back," Gunn yelled loudly in reply as he ducked under the demon's first well aimed swing and frantically began to search the surrounding area for any kind of weapon.  The shelter director started follow Gunn's orders but didn't move fast enough as the demon was able to grab her by the neck and lift her off of the ground.  "Anne," Gunn shouted with a frustrated and scared frown on his face before he grabbed the nearest stool and took a swing at the demon, smashing the stool into the middle of the demon's back.  The demon seemed to barely notice the blow as it spun around and backhanded Gunn across his face, sending him flying across the room.

"Gunn," Anne gasped out with a terrified look on her face as she struggled to free herself from the demon's vice-like grip.

With Gunn currently doubled over in a small clump on the floor on the other side of the commons area and all but Anne having quickly fled the demon was pleased with its handiwork.  It had been sent by the senior partners of Wolfram and Hart to discern the location of one Lindsey McDonald and if possible retrieve him.  The demon's fallback orders were that if Lindsey could not be recovered to kill him and anyone that was found to be in any way giving aid to him.  The shelter had been found easily enough after the demon had followed the residual magic trail that Lindsey was still leaving because of his connection to the golem that was currently wearing his face.  "Where is he…where is McDonald…," The demon growled with an angry sneer on its face as it pulled an almost tearful Anne up to its face.

"I…I don't…know," Anne managed to gasp out with a pained grimace on her face before the demon didn't like her answer and squeezed harder.

"You're lying…where is he," The demon asked again, this time bringing a clawed hand up to the side of Anne face and slowly tracing a line down the side of her face, blood seeping out the whole way.  

"Aah…," Anne cried out through a sea of tears and gritted teeth as her confidence quickly began to evaporate away.

"Let her go," Gunn shouted with a very confidant look on his face as he swung the piece of pipe that he had found after getting knocked across the room by the demon.  The demon reacted and tried to turn its body to deflect the blow but Gunn had acted fast enough and aimed his blow well enough that the end of the pipe slammed into the side of the demon's head.  The demon howled in both anger and pain as it staggered back from the effects of the blow, heaving a whimpering Anne hard into the wall as it did so.  The shelter director slumped to the ground in a heap, blood easily covering the side of her face and a dark bruise already forming on her throat.

*                           *                            *                        *                   *                       *

When the first explosion had rocked the Hyperion Kate had been checking to make sure that there were bullets in her gun while Cordelia had been nervously trying her best to hear what was happening through the walls.  At the initial jolt caused by the explosion Cordelia tumbled backwards off of a box and nearly fell on top of a startled Arthur and Jocelyn.  Kate had been shaken down to her knees as the former detective refused to lose her balance.  Oz had tried his best to stay out of the way of the contents of Lorne's drink which had gone flying skyward the instant that the first tremor hit.

"What the hell was that," Kate asked with a very serious and worried frown on her face as she pushed herself back up to her feet and looked around.

"Hate to sound like the little demon that cried wolf but that sounded like an explosion to me," Lorne shouted with a panicked smile on his face as he tried to quickly make sure that the walls were still intact.

"This is not good," Kate mumbled with a nervous and wide eyed look on her face as she cocked her gun and aimed it straight at the door.

"Ya don't say…what was your first clue," Oz interjected with a sarcastic frown on his face as he climbed up the mountain of boxes a bit and retrieved his crossbow.

"Hey wolf boy…you wanna crack jokes or figure out what happened," Kate shouted more as a challenge than as a statement as she glared back over her shoulder at Oz.

"Hey now wait a…," Oz started to reply with an angry and frustrated frown on his face before an almost frantic Jocelyn broke in.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up…," Jocelyn screamed loudly with a terrified and panic-stricken look of terror on her face as she clamped her hands down over her ears and buried her face into Arthur's chest before letting the tears cascade down her cheeks.  For a few seconds after Jocelyn's outburst everyone in the room was too shocked and surprised to say anything.  But finally Oz managed to get out what almost everyone in the room was feeling.

"What the heck," Oz asked with a bewildered look on his face as he first looked to Cordelia and then to Kate, who only shrugged her shoulders with a slightly confused frown on her face before returning her attention to the door.

"It's all to much for her, the feelings…our feelings, she's an empathy seer remember kiddies, all of our feelings combined with those of our friends out there are hitting her like a firing squad during a game of dodge ball," Lorne replied with a very concerned frown on his face as he set what was left of his drink down and looked sadly at Jocelyn.

"Oh," Oz, Kate, and Cordelia all muttered softly in unison with embarrassed looks on their faces as they stared at the ground before Cordelia found her resolve.

"Well we can't do anything about it right now Lorne, this won't stop until," Cordelia started to say with a very determined look on her face before the second blast silenced her as she was knocked off of her feet and back into a pile of boxes and stack of old newspapers.

"No…," Jocelyn screamed out again almost at the top of her lungs as she seemed to try to further burrow into Arthur's embrace while Kate had to grab hold of the doorknob to keep from falling over.

"What now," Lorne asked with an overwhelmed look of worry on his face as he lifted his gaze up and looked around as some of the barricades that they had erected earlier began to wobble ominously. 

"A second explosion…this is not good," Oz replied with a very nervous frown on his face as he leaned back up against an old clothes cabinet to keep himself upright.

"What the hell's going on out there," Kate shouted with a serious and worried look on her face as she tried to stop her heart from racing at the thought of what was actually happening on the other side of the door.

*                           *                               *                        *                        *                       *

Almost instantly Wesley and Faith sprang into action with Wesley grabbing an axe on his way around the counter while Faith leapt over the top of it and leveled the nearest Wolfram and Hart guard with a strong kick to his stomach.  Angel slipped his game face on before he leapt high into the air, knocking several of the guards off of their feet when he landed.  Connor rolled out of the way of a first attack before he spun around, kicking his feet out as he did so, and knocked the feet out from under the guard that was attacking him before he rendered the guard unconscious with a blow to the guards jaw.  Groo jabbed the but end of his axe into the stomach of the closest guard to him before he drove his fist into the side of the guards head.  Wesley blocked the first guards attack with his axe before he slapped another guard hard on the side of the head with the flat side of his axe, knocking the guard to the floor.

"Are these guys really supposed to be a threat," Faith shouted loudly to be heard about the din as she drew blood from the nose of one of the guards.

"I doubt it…," Angel answered loudly as he grabbed two guards by the head and smashed them together, breaking both men's noses in the process.

"I think that…they're meant to…wear us out," Wesley added with a few punches, elbows, and knees to the stomach and chin thrown in as he stated what Angel and Faith were thinking in the backs of their minds.

"I feel fine," Connor chimed in with a confidant grin on his face as he smacked one of the guards over the head with a softball bat, laughing a bit as he heard the man's skull crack a bit.

"For now…but their strategy is sound unless we can dispatch them quickly enough before we become fatigued," Groo said with a very serious frown on his face as he placed the shaft of his axe behind the head and neck of a guard and then used his arm strength to pull the man's head down before he smashed his knee straight up into the man's chin, most likely knocking out a few teeth.

"Here's my strategy Groo…we kick their asses and then celebrate with a few cold ones at the nearest bar," Faith interjected with an energized smile spread across her face as she leapt up on the wall, to avoid the blade of a sword, before using it almost as a springboard to launch her back into the fray.

"The rest of us can Faith, you and Connor can't," Wesley exclaimed with a very serious frown on his face before he caught a knee to his stomach and doubled over. 

"Wesley," Angel shouted with an alarmed look on his face as he caught sight of Wesley going down out of the corner of his eye and rushed to help.  Angel got to Wesley's side just as one of the guards was in the midst of swinging a softball bat in hopes of rendering the former watcher unconscious, or worse.  "Now that's not nice," Angel quipped with an angry smirk on his face as he reached up and caught the bat halfway through its swing and then laughed at the guards astonished reaction.  Wesley recovered quickly enough and grabbed a baseball bat from a fallen guard nearby and jammed the larger end of the bat into the stomach of the guard whose bat Angel had stopped.  "Mind if I borrow this for a little bit," Angel asked with a sly grin on his face as he pulled the softball bat away from the guard, as the latter doubled over in pain and clutched at his stomach, before he reared back and swung upward as hard as he could.  The guard flying through the air momentarily reminded Wesley of a scene in a movie that he had once been forced to watch, but that scene had included a golf club instead of a softball bat.

"I guess that's strike three," Wesley joked with a confidant grin on his face as he stood up and then quickly found himself fighting back to back with Angel as the remaining guards began to fight wildly, making them easy targets for someone with Angel's years of fighting experience.

"Yeah but it looks like they're going for extra innings," Angel added with an odd grin on his face before he sighed and shook his head.

"Would you two stop it with the one liners and kick their asses already," Faith shouted with an angry look on her face before she jammed her fist into the guard in front of her and turned to help Connor with one of his own.

"Okay mom…," Angel shouted back over his shoulder with a wide grin on his face before a quick kick to the stomach and then hard punch to the jaw took out the guard in front of him.

"Okay honey," Wesley added with a grin of his own before he caught the softball bat of the guard that was attacking him and knocked him out by smashing the handle of the bat straight back into the guards face.

"Okay that's it," Faith shouted with a very angry frown on her face before she knocked out the last remaining guard and tore off after Wesley.

"Whoa Faith…easy…," Angel shouted with a nervous and slightly frightened smile on his face as Wesley kept him in between himself and Faith.

"Wait till I get my hands on you…," Faith growled with an angry scowl on her face as she darted from side to side, trying to get a hold of Wesley, but every time she'd dart to one side Wesley would push Angel to that side.

"Shouldn't we make sure that Jocelyn and the others are all right before we start tearing each other to pieces," Connor asked with a slightly bewildered look on his face as he cocked his head to one side and gazed over at Angel, Wesley, and Faith.

"You're right Connor…Groo, go make sure that they're all right while I call Gunn and check to see if he's had any problems with Lindsey and Elaine," Angel said with a fed up frown on his face before he stepped out from in between Wesley and Faith and walked over to the counter, throwing to the side the softball bat that he had taken from one of the guards as he went.  At first Groo and Connor kept their gazes locked onto the failed watcher and rogue slayer, half expecting the two to start arguing, but then tired of watching as the two started to laugh and then hugged each other tightly.  "Uh Groo…would you…," Angel asked with a bored and unsure frown on his face as he picked up the phone and started to dial Gunn's cell phone number.

"Oh yes…of course…Connor," Groo replied with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face and shrug of his shoulders before he turned to Connor and nodded his head back towards the fortified room.  Connor stood with a confused look on his face for a few moments before returning the nod and following Groo out of the lobby.  Angel finished dialing the number and then waited for a few seconds before his brows furrowed and a very serious and concerned look came over his face.

"What is it Angel, what's wrong," Faith asked with a growing look of concern on her face as she stood, with one arm still around Wesley.

"I'm not sure, but the phone never rang…it's as if Gunn turned his off," Angel answered with a slightly confused look on his face as he set the phone back down.

"But why would Gunn turn his phone off…he knew that you would be calling him to check up on Lindsey and Elaine," Wesley asked with a very serious look on his face as he let go of Faith and walked over to stand beside Angel.

"Something tells me that he didn't…I'm getting a sinking feeling that we weren't the only ones to get visitors tonight," Angel replied with a very serious frown on his face before he picked up a discarded axe and headed towards where he had parked his car.

"Go…I'll stay here and hold down the fort," Faith said with a tired yawn as she waved Wesley on after he looked back at her with a look on his face that seemed to be saying that he thought that Angel shouldn't go alone.

"Okay…I love you," Wesley called out with a nervous smile on his face before he picked up one of the downed guards' swords and headed off after Angel.

"Ditto," Faith shouted back as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes before she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

END OF CHAPTER 19


	20. What Else Can Go Wrong

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**Author's Note:  THREE STRIKES is nearing it's end-but with many surprises yet to come. I may write a sequel that'll either take place a few years after this or many years later, depending on reviewers input.  **

**CHAPTER 20-WHAT ELSE CAN GO WRONG**

"Keep trying the number Cordelia," Faith said with a very serious and somewhat worried frown on her face as she crossed her arms and glared down over the counter at the former cheerleader.  

"I've already tried it like fourteen times Faith…they're not going to answer," Cordelia shot back with an annoyed scowl on her face as she glared up at Faith.

"I don't care, Wesley should have called by now," Faith exclaimed with a very cold look on her face before she got frustrated and walked away.  After Wesley and Angel had left to go and check on Elaine and Lindsey Groo and Connor had gotten everyone out of the fortified room and then set about tying up all of the guards.  Jocelyn had immediately run to Connor's side and the two had quickly found a spot in one of the far corners of the lobby and were talking quietly.  Oz had rushed outside through what was left of the front doors first and then back out through the remains of the garden in an attempt to make sure that no one was still lurking around.  At first Faith had softly began to pace around the lobby, refusing to help with the cleanup but making sure to almost force Cordelia to try to reach Wesley.  After awhile of Cordelia not being able to contact Wesley Faith's previously soft pacing had turned into almost stomping, with Lorne at times having to jump out of her way for fear of what she'd do to him.

"Would you sit still already…I'm no Florence Nightingale when it comes to this kind of thing," Kate said with a very serious and slightly angry scowl on her face as she grabbed hold of Groo's arm and tried to force him to sit down.

"Who…," Groo asked softly with a kind but yet confused smile on his face as he pulled his sleeve back and let Kate wipe some of the dirt away from a wound, that he hadn't remembered getting, on his arm.

"She was…aw forget about…I'm just glad that you're okay, I don't know what I would have done if something were to have happened to you…shit," Kate replied with a nervous and impatient look on her face before she realized what it was that she was saying and slammed her eyes shut before cursing out loud.

"Well there's no need getting snippy sugarplum…," Lorne said with a disapproving frown on his face as he slowly began to stir his drink.

"I'm not…why don't you go and do something constructive for once, all you've done since I got here is drink and stick your nose into places and discussions where it's none of your damn business," Kate shouted with a very angry look on her face as she whirled around and glared at Lorne, who stood in stunned silence at the former cops actions.

"I can see someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Oz interjected with a grim frown on his face as he walked back into the lobby.

*                    *                            *                               *                       *                         *

The demon had recovered quickly from Gunn's sudden and ferocious attack.  Anne still lay unconscious near the wall, a pool of blood slowly starting to form near her face as the blood continued to flow out.  Gunn had shakily stood up and was frantically searching for something to use as a weapon when Elaine spun around the corner at the top of the stairs and started to race down the stairs, only to be met abruptly by the demon as turned, hoping to find Gunn directly in its path, but instead found a terrified Elaine.  Before she could act the demon extended the almost two foot long spike from the back of its arm and drove the point of the spike straight through Elaine's stomach.  Elaine didn't even have time to scream as she slumped to the ground, the demon grinning wickedly above her.

*                         *                       *                            *                      *                               *

"Faster Wesley," Angel shouted with a very pensive and worried frown on his face as he sat in the middle in the back seat of his car while Wesley drove.

"I have it to the floor Angel, we can't go any faster…and remind me again exactly why I'm the one driving your car," Wesley replied with a nervous frown on his face as he tried his best to keep one eye on the traffic in front of him, as he raced towards the shelter, while keeping the other weary eye on Angel.

"Because we missed something Wes…Lindsey and Elaine aren't safe with Anne, I just know it…we have to get there," Angel said with a very determined and frustrated look on his face as he stared straight ahead.  The two had raced out of the Hyperion so quickly that they had almost forgotten to remember to bring any weapons along.  But now as they neared the shelter both of their nerves were starting to fray uncontrollably.  Only the presence of his soul was keeping Angel from crawling out of his own skin.  Wesley sat in the front seat with his sword on the seat beside him along with Angel's axe.

"What could we have missed though, the only ones that knew where we were taking Lindsey and Elaine are people that we can trust…certainly you're not suggesting that one of them…," Wesley asked with a very nervous and unsure frown on his face as he swung around a corner as fast as he could go, almost spinning out in the process.

"I don't think so Wesley…but now that I think about it Lindsey did kind of smell a little funny when we picked him up, I didn't really put much thought into it because I just guessed that my nose was playing tricks on me but…," Angel replied with a brooding scowl on his face as he tried to figure out exactly what it was that he had missed.

"Angel I don't…bloody hell why didn't I see it…I must have been blind," Wesley started to reply with a nervous smile on his face before a realization came to him and he yelled out in anger.

"You should have seen what Wesley," Angel asked with a confused look on his face as he wiped a hand across his face.

"The trail…the magical trail that Lindsey has following behind him, you see because Lindsey is magically connected to the golem there has to be some kind of magical link between the two that allowed the golem to drain Lindsey's energy, and even though we got Lindsey out of Wolfram and Hart…," Wesley replied with a nervous frown on his face as he angrily shook his head and lightly pounded on the steering wheel with his free hand.

"The trail still connects them, like bread crumbs…any demon trying to track Lindsey and Elaine down would only have to find that trail and…," Angel started to say with a very deep in thought frown on his face before he tightly gripped the headrest of the seat in front of him.

"They'd have no trouble finding Lindsey and Elaine no matter where we tried to hide them," Wesley finished Angel's summation with a very serious look on his face as he turned one last corner and slammed on the brakes, running up onto the curb in the process.

"I smell blood…," Angel growled with an angry scowl on his face as he picked up the axe from the front seat and threw the blanket over him before he charged towards the front doors.

"We're to late," Wesley added with a frightened and worried look on his face as he shut the car off before he grabbed the sword off of the seat beside him and followed after Angel, opening the door and letting Angel enter first.  Angel and Wesley arrived at the shelter just in time to find Gunn using the wall to hold himself up and Elaine and Anne lying in ever growing pools of their own blood.

*                      *                         *                                  *                        *                    *

After slamming the door shut on Gunn's face Fred had secluded herself into the room, trying her best to sort through what Gunn had told her.  She had known about what happened before Angel and the others had rescued her from Pylea, mostly from talking to Cordelia and Gunn, with a few of the finer points added in from Lorne's perspective.  The green skinned empathy demon had been invaluable in finding out information about a few of the moments that Angel and the others had shied away from saying anything about.  She hadn't wanted to pry, being the new girl and all added to the fact that they had just risked their lives to save her.  Lorne had offered the knowledge under the table and when Angel wasn't around, saying that otherwise Angel would be able to use his vampire hearing and would get angry.

She remembered how Wesley had been back in Pylea, so strong, confidant, and in control of everything.  Almost nothing had been beyond his understanding, except of course for the dynamics behind the portals.  It had been clear that he understood portals in their general uses but she had been the one to help and finally track the one down that they had used to get back to their rightful world.  No one had told her about Wesley being shot, only going so far as to say that he had been injured and had to work out of a wheelchair for a time.  Every time that Fred had tried to ask Angel about that time the two and a half century old vampire would suddenly find it hard to talk with a look of shame spread across his face.  Willow's arrival and news of Buffy's death hadn't hit her very hard greatly because she had no clue who Buffy was and got the carbon copy explanation from a sour faced Wesley.

She had been trying to tie all of the dangling loose ends of the past of her friends when she had heard the loud crash in the kitchen.  Telling herself that it was merely an accident, one of the kitchen workers accidentally dropping one pan onto another or onto the floor, she had paid it little heed.  She had nearly passed out from fright at the sound of Anne and Gunn shouting in alarm and then had come Anne's terrified and pain filled scream.

"Charles," Fred shouted at the top of her lungs as she struggled against the doorknob to get the door open.  For a few fleeting seconds it seemed that she would never get out of the room but just as she was finally able to turn the knob and rip the door open she was met by the sight of Elaine lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood.

*                        *                           *                         *                       *                           *

Sitting high up in its office on one of the top floors of the Wolfram and Hart tower the golem reveled in the events that were unfolding throughout the city.  The first wave of attack on the Hyperion and the insurgents within had been repulsed.  But that eventuality had been expected well beforehand and the golem only grinned at the thought of how sweet its ultimate victory would be over so hard fought an opponent.  The recently resurrected vampire Penn had sullenly stepped back into its office with one vapid excuse after another, begging not to be staked.  The golem had mulled over its options for what to Penn felt like hours instead of seconds before rendering its decision.  Penn would lead the charge the next night when the hordes would be unleashed upon the city and there was absolutely nothing that Angel or any of his insipid team could do.  Failure to accomplish his goal would be certain death.  Penn angrily pledged his confidence in the next night's events before he hurried out of the golem's office, not wanting to see it replenish itself.

*                              *                             *                        *                   *                        *

"So tell me more about Pylea…," Kate asked with a nervous frown on her face as she slowly strode out into the garden, finding an introspective Groo sitting on a bench that had been knocked over during the fight but that he had set right again.  

"Oh…Kate, I didn't…sorry," Groo babble out with a nervous and slightly surprised smile on his face before he motioned for Kate to sit next to him.  The morning sun's rays warmed Kate as she sat down on the hard stone bench beside Groo.

"I'll forget about it if you tell me about where you're from, you said that the dimension that you're from resembled hell and…," Kate started to say with a cheesy smile on her face as she brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear, suddenly feeling like a young schoolgirl out on her first date.

"I may have…exaggerate the detriments of my home dimension earlier, Pylea can be a very inhospitable place at times, to humans at least…until Angel and the others came that is, because of Cordelia's proclamations and the monks loss of power many things changed, humans were no longer thought of as swine…property to be used…and abused…at their owners whim," Groo replied with a nervous and somewhat ashamed frown on his face as he hunched his shoulders and staring at the ground while playing absentmindedly with a fuzzer that he had removed from his pant leg.  

"Abused…," Kate gasped out, her mouth barely able to form the positions needed to utter the word as all of the color drained from her face and she desperately struggled against herself to keep from shaking.

"But I was fortunate, as the Groosalag I was treated differently, trained to be a champion of the realm, fulfilling my duties…but that all changed when Angel and the others came to Pylea, I learned about new ideas…new concepts…," Groo continued with a slightly nostalgic look on his face before he noticed the frightened look in Kate's wide azure eyes.  "Kate…are you okay," He asked softly with a sincere edge to his voice and expression on his face as he carefully slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"Y…yeah…I'm fine, I just got something in my eye," Kate mumbled softly back in reply as she smiled while turning her head away and wiping away a tear.

"Good I…wait…you're crying," Groo started to say with an almost relieved smile on his face before his faculties returned and his countenance grew more concerned and worried.

"No I'm not…I just got something in my eye," Kate argued again, this time having to bite her lip to keep the tears back.

"You know Kate, you don't lie very well, you try to hide your emotions but your eyes truly are a window to your soul, please let me help you…," Groo whispered softly with a very serious and sincere look on his face and in his eyes as he gently took hold of Kate's chin with one hand and brought her gaze back onto his face.  Before either truly knew what was happening Groo hesitantly leaned down and placed a soft, chaste, kiss on Kate's lips.

"Groo I…," Kate started to reply softly with a terrified look on her face but an exhilarated and flabbergasted look of sheer and utter joy in her eyes as she pulled away before she leaned forward and returned Groo's soft kiss with one of her own.  Unlike her response Groo refrained from pulling away and instead pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

*                            *                         *                          *                     *                             *

After Groo and later Kate had left the lobby Faith had fought off a bought of nausea that she cursed at for having hit her at such an inopportune time.  She had tried her best to stay calm and not jump to any conclusions but ever since she had discovered that she was carrying Wesley's child her usual stoic level of resolve had been shattered into a million pieces.  For some reason she could no longer set her mind and beliefs on the theory that no matter what happened she'd be okay, no matter who died she'd make it through.  But now her thoughts were consumed by fears about her making a mistake and somehow harming the baby and sleepless nights wherein she'd spend her conscious hours terrified that on his next mission Wesley would act just a hair to slowly or not see something coming.  A part of her psyche hated the fact that she was even worrying at these thoughts.  But yet an equally sizeable portion of her psyched was rejoicing at the simple fact that she was worrying about details such as these.  

"Faith…," Lorne asked softly with a concerned frown on his face as he lightly rapped on the room's door.

"What…," Faith growled back her question with an angry scowl on her face as she propped herself up on her elbow and let the sheet drop off of her shoulders.

"You feeling okay, I noticed that you scuttled up here in quite the little hurry after yelling at the fair Cordelia," Lorne replied with a nervous and somewhat worried look on his face before he took a quick sip of his drink.

"Do I look…damn…I'm fine, now go away," Faith started to say with an annoyed frown on her face before she realized, and mentally cursed her stupidity, that the door was closed and slumped her head back down against the pillow.

"You might say that you're fine sweet-pea…but I can tell from the little…hint…of anger in your voice that you're not…so why don't you open the door and tell Uncle Lorne what's on your pretty little mind," Lorne said with a nervous smile on his face as he leaned his shoulder against the door.

"I am not…ugh…fine," Faith started to shout with a defiant scowl on her face before she just gave up arguing and threw the bed sheet aside.  She slowly made her way to the door before flinging the offending slab of wood open.  "What…," Faith growled out her question with a slightly sickly and tired frown on her face as she ran a nervous hand through her ruffled locks.

"Like I said pumpkin you ran up here in such a hurry…not to mention the less than flattering sound of you…uh…tossing your cookies…," Lorne answered with a meek shrug of his shoulders before he took a nervous sip of his drink.

"It's called morning sickness dumb-ass…now if you don't mind I'd like to get back to wallowing in bed and worrying myself to death about the man that I love and…," Faith said with a very stern and ever growing look of anger on her face as one hand unconsciously balled up into a fist.

"Hey…easy now, I can take a hint as easily as the next green skinned empathy demon with horns…but right now you shouldn't worry about Wesley, he's with Angel, those two can handle almost anything," Lorne said with a weak smile of reassurance on his face as he tried to look Faith in the eye, but she turned away and crossed her arms.

"You…you sound pretty sure of yourself…but then tell me this, why hasn't Wesley…or Angel answered their cell phones," Faith mumbled softly back with a growing look of concern on her face as she leaned back up against the wall and stared straight down at her feet.

"You know Angelcakes Faith, he probably either forgot to turn his cell phone on or he didn't bring it with him…as for Wesley well…perhaps his phone was damaged in the fight, something similar happened to a beeper of his once," Lorne said with a serious and hopefully comforting smile on his face as he rang his index finger along the rim of his drink.

"Yeah but…," Faith started to say with a very nervous look on her face as she started to lift her head, but was interrupted by an almost out of breath Oz.

"Faith…Lorne…we got trouble…," Oz gasped out with an out of breath look on his face as he bent over and put his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath.

"Oz…what is it, what's wrong…it's Wesley isn't it…isn't it," Faith started to say with a confused and worried look on her face before the beginnings of a panic attack began to set in.

"N…no…there's a news crew downstairs…I don't know what they're doing here or who called them…but they've got camera's and the lobby looks like a war zone, complete with tied up Wolfram and Hart guards and enough demon bodies to fill up the city morgue," Oz added with a very serious and worried look on his face as he straightened up and nodded his head back towards the lobby.

"Shit…come on…," Faith cursed loudly with an angry and terrified scowl on her face before she uncrossed her arms and took off down the hallway back towards the lobby.

"Uh…not to sound specist or anything…but…maybe you should stay up here until we get rid of the news crew," Oz said with a nervous look on his face as he held his hands up in a gesture akin to disagreement of a suggestion.

"Specist…," Lorne asked softly with a nervous frown on his face as he squinted his eyes and leaned forward a bit.

"You know…like racist, sexist…you're a different species than I am so…specist," Oz said with a nervous smile on his face and shrug of his shoulders before he spun around on his heel and took off running after Faith, leaving a stunned and startled Lorne standing in the hallway, idly sipping his drink and trying to figure out what to do while he waited.

END OF CHAPTER 20


	21. I Hate Hospitals And The Beginning Of Th...

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created, like Jocelyn, Elaine, and Arthur.**

**CHAPTER 21-I HATE HOSPITALS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE END**

The seconds slowly ticked away as Angel took in the horror of the sight in front of him.  At his side Wesley stifled an initial reflex to vomit before tightening his grip on his sword and trying his best to classify the demon standing triumphant on the other side of the room.  Anne lay on the floor up against the far wall, blood flowing freely from a wicked wound on the side of her face while what looked like Elaine lay crumpled in a heap at the demon's feet, blood pouring out of a ghastly wound in her stomach.  Fred stood, frozen in terror, in a doorway some five or more feet from the demon.  Gunn stood up against one of the other walls, looking like he was using the wall to stay on his feet.  A few of the more unfortunate children at the shelter huddled into the corners of the room that were the farthest ones from the demon and the bloodbath in front of them.

"Gunn," Wesley shouted with a worried look on his face as he rushed to his friend's side and gave him a quick once over, looking for any life threatening injuries.

"Get them out of here Wesley," Angel shouted more into thin air than actually at Wesley as he rushed forward, leapt over a downed couch, and then ducked under the demon's first swing.

"But…," Wesley started to protest with a concerned frown on his face as a still terrified Fred rushed to Gunn's aid.

"Just do it Wesley…Anne and…Elaine need an ambulance…," Angel replied with a shout of his own before the demon got in a lucky shot and its fist connected with Angel's jaw, sending him flying back over the sofa.

"Okay," Wesley shouted back with a questioning look on his face as he took a step towards Angel and then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.  As he tried to punch in the correct digits Wesley's nerves got the best of him and he accidentally hit more buttons than those that he had intended to.  "Bloody hell," Wesley cursed out loud as he canceled the call and tried again.  When the phone started to ring Wesley handed it to Fred and laid a hand on her shoulder.  "When they answer get the paramedics over here as fast as you can, if we have any chance of saving Elaine or Anne we can't waste any time," Wesley said with a very serious frown on his face before he stepped away from Gunn and Fred and rushed to Angel's side, just as the two and a half century old vampire picked up his axe.

"I thought I told you to…," Angel started to say with an angry scowl on his face before he vaulted back over the couch and blocked one of the demon's swings with his axe.

"Fred's on it…besides, it looks like you could use some help," Wesley replied with a deadly serious look on his face as he rushed the demon also, trying his best to keep behind the demon and away from its spike.

"What…I can handle this…," Angel started to say back with a frustrated look on his face before the demon spun around and skewered Angel through the stomach with its spike, eliciting a loud shout of pain and anger from the two and a half century old vampire.

"Angel," Wesley shouted in alarm as he recovered quickly from the initial shock of what he'd just seen and drove the point of his sword straight into the demons side just below its ribs.  The demon screamed in pain and spun around, backhanding Wesley across the room and up and through the wall.  With a pained grimace on its face the demon pulled Wesley's sword from it body and flung it to the side, hissing at the sight of the amount of blood pouring out of the wound.

"Stupid human…you will pay for…aargh…," The demon started to growl in defiance, as it glared over at Wesley, before several gunshots rang out, striking the demon squarely between the eyes.  The demon took a stagger step forwards before its eyes rolled back into its head and the demon slumped face down onto the floor.

"Ahh…what…," Angel gasped out softly through gritted teeth as he struggled back up to his feet.  To his amazement at the bottom of the stairs stood a very fragile looking Lindsey, gun in hand.

*                      *                       *                               *                           *                         *

"I swear nothing happened here," Cordelia said with an almost frantic and terrified smile on her face as she tried to stay in front of the camera, blocking the destroyed ruins of the lobby from ever being filmed.

"Right…and that's why this place looks like a tornado went through…sorry but I don't believe you," The reporter said with an unconvinced frown on her face as she tried her best to get Cordelia out of the way.

"Who the fuck are you," Faith demanded with a very serious scowl on her face, not in the mood to mince words, as she descended the stairs and crossed the lobby.

"Nice to meet you to...," The reporter replied with a shocked and somewhat scared look on her face while the cameraman forgot what it was that he was filming and stared at Faith like she was a piece of meat.

"Whatever…and if you don't stop ogling me I'm going to come over there and stick that camera where the sun don't shine…," Faith said with a look that seemed like she could care less about the reporter's shock at her statements before she turned towards the cameraman and looked about ready to attack before Oz joined in.

"Whoa Faith, I think that's far enough…a woman in your condition shouldn't be getting all emotional like this," Oz exclaimed with a nervous frown on his face as he did his best to pull a still angry Faith away from the reporter and the cameraman.

"Her condition…is she sick…is it contagious," The reporter asked with a worried and confused look on her face as she cupped a hand over her nose and mouth while the cameraman looked completely lost, but glad that Faith was no longer seconds away from killing him.  

"That's funny…last I knew being pregnant was supposed to be a blessing, not looked at as a sickness that you had to be scared of catching," Kate said with a very serious frown on her face as she walked back into the lobby from the garden, being careful to conceal her gun in the waistband of her jeans.  Groo slowly walked in behind her with an odd grin on his face, as if he was lost in his own little world and didn't seem very concerned with the goings on in the lobby.

"She's pregnant…oh, well that explains a lot," The reporter said through a hefty sigh before she smiled and shook her head while the cameraman shook some mental images out of his head and refocused the camera on the reporter.

"Keep it up lady and…," Faith started to say with a very angry scowl on her face as she started to take a step forward towards the reporter but was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. 

"I'll get it," Arthur said with a nervous smile on his face as he walked out of Angel's office, shutting the door behind him.  As he did so Cordelia was able to catch sight of Connor and Jocelyn sitting on the floor with their backs up against the wall, the empathy seer asleep in Connor's arms.  "Hello…oh hi Wesley, you don't know how…," Was all that Arthur could get out before Faith spun around on her heel faster than anyone was ready for and used the counter as a springboard to get to the other side of the counter.  

"Wesley…what the…," Faith started to shout into the phone, after almost ripping it out of Arthur's hands, before her anger abruptly resided and a very worried expression cast itself upon her face.

"Faith…what is it, what's wrong…," Cordelia asked with a very worried look on her face as it seemed that the former rogue slayer had gone into a trance.  "Faith…fine…Wesley what…," Cordelia exclaimed loudly with an annoyed frown on her face before she took the telephone away from Faith and got the news straight from Wesley.  "Okay…thanks Wesley…Memorial General Hospital, we'll be right there," Cordelia said with an almost hollow look in her eyes, as she nodded her head, before she hung up the phone and turned back towards the rest of the group in the lobby.

"So…what happened," Oz asked with a confused and somewhat worried look on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

"That was Wesley…a demon somehow tracked Lindsey and Elaine to the shelter, it scratched up Anne pretty good and Elaine…well they're not sure about her yet," Cordelia said with a very emotionless look on her face before she bit back a tear.

"They were supposed to be safe there weren't they…how did the demon track them down," Kate asked with a confused and angry frown on her face as she walked up to a still nervous Cordelia.

"You're asking me…you realize that's like asking Angel the difference between…," Cordelia started to say with a startled look on her face before Kate threw her hands up in frustration and turned away, walking back towards Groo.

"Perhaps the demon tracked them there by their scent, just like…," Groo started to say with an optimistic smile on his face, as he seemed happy to help, before the reporter interrupted him.

"Wait a minute…a demon…are all you guy's high on something…," The reporter asked with a wary smile on her face as she took a step back away from those assembled in the lobby while her cameraman did the same.

"I wish…then at least we'd be able to forget that any of this ever happened," Faith replied with a sarcastic frown on her face as she had finally snapped out of the daze that she had seemed to sink into.

"Wait…you live in L.A. and you've never seen a demon…," Cordelia asked with a look of disbelief on her face as she cocked her head to one side and stared oddly at the reporter.

"Well I didn't believe in demon's and the whole realm of the supernatural until I started working with Angel, I had no idea about all of the demon's and vampires that were running around this city, let alone how much they influenced what was happening," Kate added with a very serious and somewhat angry look on her face as Groo slowly nodded his head.

"The whole world of demons and vampires can be a lot to handle if you're not ready for it…I should know," Oz said with a nervous frown on his face as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled weakly.  

"You guys are crazy…," The reporter said with a totally confused and scared look on her face as she swept her gaze around the room before a nervous Lorne slowly walked down the stairs.

"No…not crazy, just very overworked," Lorne said with a cheeky smile on his face before the reporter turned towards him and screamed like an actress from an old horror flick before fainting.

*                    *                         *                              *                       *                         *

After the ambulances had come and taken Anne, Elaine, and Lindsey to the hospital, with Gunn having refused any medical help, Wesley had parked Angel's car a few blocks away in a back alley before calling Cordelia and delving into the sewers.  Angel had just gotten the demon's body down into the sewers and finished cleaning up its green blood when the police had arrived and sealed off the area.  Wesley had climbed down into the sewers a few minutes after that.

"Is Elaine going to be okay," Angel asked with a worried look on his face as he knelt down beside the body of the demon in his attempt to figure out what type of demon it was.  

"It's still to early to tell, this demon did a bloody good job of trying to kill her…," Wesley replied with a nervous and angry frown on his face before he walked around the demon's body and knelt down, directly opposite Angel.

"We should never have allowed this to happen Wes…I should have stayed…," Angel started to say with a guilt ridden look in his eyes before Wesley broke in.

"It happened Angel…and no amount of beating ourselves up about it is going to change that fact, right now we should focus all of our energies on discovering if this was the only demon that Wolfram and Hart sent after Lindsey and Elaine or if they're in danger at this moment," Wesley interjected with a very serious and concerned look on his face as he slowly began to examine the demon.  He wasn't sure if he had seen this type of demon before but if living and working in Los Angeles had taught him anything it was that he should always expect the unexpected.  When he had told Faith about that discovery she had laughed at his use of the old cliché.  He remembered had initially tried to stop her from laughing by yelling at her, but she had only laughed harder.  He had next resorted to try to physically stop her, but all that ended up doing was entering the two in an awkward game of cat and mouse, with Faith running around the couch and Wesley chasing her.  When he had finally caught up to Faith, as she had slipped on one of the rugs, the two had fallen onto the couch where Wesley had started to try to tickle the laughter out of her.  That attempt had failed miserably as her laughter only increased, at least until Wesley had gotten a brainstorm and kissed her.  The next morning he had woken up naked beside Faith in bed with the mother of all hangovers.  Faith had remembered little of that night except to say that they should do it again sometime.

"Agreed…but we'd better do this fast…how'd Cordelia take the news," Angel asked with a nervous and slightly scared frown on his face as he imagined how Cordelia had acted when Wesley had told her what had happened.

"She handled it pretty well I have to admit, Faith wasn't to happy with me since I hadn't called her back…," Wesley answered with a slightly cheesy smile on his face before he shook his head and looked back up at Angel.  "I don't know what type of demon this is, if we had more time I could probably go back to the hotel and research it in one of my books," Wesley added with a concerned frown on his face as he lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"Forget it, what we should do now is try to make sure that Lindsey and Elaine are safe while we find and then destroy the totem that Wolfram and Hart is using to control the zombies, because if we don't then what happened to Anne and Elaine is only going to be the beginning," Angel said with a very serious look on his face and tone to his voice as he slowly stood up and began to dust his hands off as best he could.

"You're right, but we still don't have even the slightest idea as to what the totem looks like," Wesley said with a somber and worried look on his face as he stood back up and crossed his arms.

"Well we know that whatever the totem is it has to be big…huge even, to control all of those zombies, so I'd say that things like the sculptures in the parks are a no go…," Angel said with a deep in thought frown on his face as he slowly began to pace around the sewer.

"A building…," Wesley muttered softly to himself with an unsure look on his face as he brought one hand up and put it under his chin in a pose reminiscent of the statue The Thinker.  

"What," Angel asked softly as he snapped out of his train of thought and turned to Wesley.

"I was just thinking about what you said, that the totem would have to be extremely big to be able to possess enough power to control all of the zombies…what if we've been going about this all wrong, what if the totem is actually a building of some sort, we would drive or walk right past it without even giving it a second thought, but it'd be right under our noses," Wesley continued with an almost fed up scowl on his face as he imitated Angel's earlier actions and began to slowly pace back and forth around the sewer.

"But what building would be big enough to…Wolfram and Hart…the building that you mentioned, would the law firm itself be big enough to be used as a totem to control the army of zombies," Angel started to say with a deep in thought look on his face before he seemed to get an idea and noticeably brightened up.

"It's possible…but then they'd be using up enormous amounts of power to keep the totem functioning properly," Wesley added with a grim frown on his face as he stopped pacing back and forth and looked down at the dead demon.

"We could have Cordelia hack into the California Department of Energy's database and check to see if Wolfram and Hart's power usage has spiked lately," Angel said with an optimistic smile on his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you sure that she can…hack in…maybe we should give Willow a call, possibly even have her come to L.A. and do the hack for us, it'd save us time…and Cordelia could then stay with Elaine, we could say that she's Elaine's twin sister or something like that to get around the visitors policy at the hospital," Wesley questioned with a serious look on his face as he jammed his hands into his pockets and stared down at the demon for a bit before looking back up at Angel.

"Good idea…I'm sure that Oz won't mind about seeing Willow again, maybe she can even help him figure out what Wolfram and Hart did to him while they held him captive, because something's telling me that it wasn't to help him with his problems…," Angel replied with a nervous look on his face as he slowly nodded his head back up towards the street.

"I'm on it…are you coming," Wesley said with a positive look on his face as he walked to the nearest ladder and started to climb.

"Not yet, I'm going to stay with our friend here a bit longer before I check in with a few of my sources, see if they know anything," Angel replied softly as he shook his head before Wesley nodded his head and pushed the manhole cover out of the way and climbed back up out of the sewers.  "Looks like it's just you and me now pal…," Angel said with an almost mocking smirk on his face before he knelt back down to further examine the body, never noticing a dark figure watching him from the shadows.

*                         *                           *                       *                         *                     *

"S…stay away from me," The cameraman shouted with a scared look on his face as he quickly began to back away from Lorne, who seemed completely uninterested in anything but a stray bit of stitching on his collar.

"He's not going to hurt you, I doubt that he could even if he wanted to," Kate said with a sly grin on her face before doing her best to stifle a laugh.

"This is all getting way out of hand, what are we supposed to do now," Arthur asked with a worried look on his face as a nervous Connor and Jocelyn walked out of Angel's office and stood beside Faith.

"Simple…we get the gruesome twosome over there back to wherever it was that they came from and then get to the hospital to make sure that Wolfram and Hart doesn't have anyone on the inside," Faith said with a very serious look on her face as she slowly walked around the end of the counter and then leaned back up against it.  

"That could be hard, if someone sees us carrying her out of here like that they'll call the police…and then we won't be able to help anyone," Connor said with a frustrated look on his face as he shook his head and pulled Jocelyn closer.  

"Then I guess that we will just have to do it quickly and quietly," Groo said with a nervous smile on his face before he smiled at the cameraman and then knocked the shorter man out with one punch.

"Or we could just do that," Oz interjected sarcastically with an impatient frown on his face before he hurried to help Groo.

END OF CHAPTER 21


	22. Old Friends And Time Spent

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 22-OLD FRIENDS AND TIME SPENT**

After successfully carrying the reporter and her cameraman back out to their truck without anyone in the area seeing them and calling the police Cordelia and everyone else at the Hyperion left for the hospital. Everyone except Kate and Groo as Kate had said that someone should stay back at the Hyperion if the eventuality presented itself that Wolfram and Hart would send a new wave of a demons and vampires.  Oz hadn't said anything but he had sensed the elevated level of pheromones emanating from the pair and wondered if there was in truth another reason that the two wanted to stay behind.  Lorne had feigned a headache and said that he needed to get some special ingredients to make a tonic.  Cordelia had driven one of the cars while Faith had gotten behind the wheel of Wesley's SUV.  Everyone else had piled inside of the two vehicles and were generally quiet until the motley crew finally reached the hospital.

"Where do we go," Arthur asked with a worried look on his face as he and the others walked in the front doors of the hospital and tried their best to stay out of the way.

"Follow me, I know this hospital like the back of my hand…unfortunately," Cordelia replied at first with a chipper smile on her face before her countenance fell and she shrugged her shoulders as she headed for the nearest elevator.

"How…," Connor asked with a confused look on his face as he and Jocelyn slipped inside the elevator beside Cordelia.

"Well let's see…there was the time that the visions went crazy and I almost died…Wesley got blown up then to…then Wesley getting shot…the visions starting to slowly kill me…Wesley getting his throat cut, not to mention all of the times that I had to come here for Gunn or one of his friends…then the visits with all of the people that we helped if they got hurt, and…," Cordelia answered with a serious frown on her face as she slowly looked around the elevator.  Faith hid her level of discomfort at the mention of Wesley being injured well, although at the end Jocelyn thought that she saw a lone tear slide down the formerly rogue slayers cheek.  Oz simply stood in silence, taking all of the news in and trying his best to catalogue it all for later pondering and reference.  

"So then Charles and Winifred are already here," Arthur asked with a nervous smile on his face as he sensed the need for someone to change the subject.

"Yeah Wesley said that we could take over watching duties for them until he got here, but he didn't say how long it'd be, he said that he had to take care of something first, go and see and old friend…whatever that means," Faith replied with a confused and somewhat worried look on her face before the elevators stopped rising and the doors opened, allowing Faith and the others to walk out of it.

*                       *                            *                               *                       *                       *

After climbing out of the sewers Wesley had tried to call Willow in Sunnydale on his cell phone, but he discovered that his battery had run down after the call to Faith.  Rather than return to the Hyperion and possibly spend hours trying to call Sunnydale he decided to simply take the more direct approach and drive to Sunnydale himself.  He filled up Angel's car at a little gas station on the outskirts of L.A. before heading towards Sunnydale.  On the way he tried to come up with ways to get Willow to accompany him back to Los Angeles without raising any unwanted questions.  Although given his less than impressive appearance after the battles of the previous he expected that he'd have to come up with some quick answers.  It took him almost half an hour to find Revello Drive and when he did so to his luck the lights were on.  He only hoped that Willow was at home and he wouldn't have to traverse all over Sunnydale to find her.  He parked Angel's car in the driveway and slowly made his way up to the door.  He hesitated for a bit before finally rapping his knuckles against the door, forgetting about simply using the doorbell.

"I already told you, we don't want any…Wesley," Dawn started to say with an annoyed scowl on her face as she pulled the door open before she saw who was standing on the doorstep.

"Hello Dawn…is Willow here," Wesley asked softly with a nervous smile on his face as he stumbled through the pleasantries and got down to the point of his visit.

"Well hi to you to Wesley, won't you please come in…what happened to you, you kinda look like hell," Dawn replied with a sarcastic smirk on her face at first before her expression changed to more one of worry as she eyed the former watcher.

"Sorry…uh late night with Faith…," Wesley lied with a nervous laugh as he laid one hand on his hip and scratched the back of his head with the other.

"Eww….forget I asked," Dawn said with a grossed out expression on her face as she let Wesley in and then closed the door behind him.

"N…no wait, Faith wasn't feeling well, as if the morning sickness wasn't bad enough she's having a hard time sleeping," Wesley was quick to interject with a nervous smile on his face before he jammed both hands into his pockets.

"Morning sickness…wait, Faith's not…," Dawn stammered out with a restrained smile of excitement on her face before Wesley smiled sheepishly and nodded his head.  "Wow…that's like…wow, pregnant…," Dawn squealed with glee before she surged forward and hugged Wesley tightly.

"Who's pregnant," A bleary eyed Spike asked softly with an unnecessary yawn as he stepped around the corner and leaned back up against the railing.

"Faith," Wesley answered with a nervous smile on his face as he could almost feel his heart rate pick up.  He fully expected Spike to make some off color remark about Faith being pregnant but was completely unprepared for Spike's response.

"Guess congratulations are in order then…so uh, congratulations…supposed Faith and Buffy are in the same boat now…bullocks…," Spike said with a nervous smile on his face before he realized that he'd said to much and quickly made his exit.

"What was that all about…and since when…," Wesley started to ask with a confused and unsure frown on his face before Willow and Buffy appeared at the top of the stairs.  

"I'm not sure…he's been acting weird for the past few hours…he and Buffy were locked up in her room all day and…," Dawn started to answer with a worried and confused frown on her face before Buffy and Willow walked down the stairs and Buffy interrupted.

"Wesley what are you…what's wrong…," Buffy asked with a worried and nervous look on her face as she stepped up beside Dawn as Wesley shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Nothing's wrong, I just came because I need to talk to Willow about something…that's all," Wesley replied softly with a tired yawn as he suddenly realized how long it had been since he'd gotten any measurable amount of sleep.

"And this was something that you couldn't just call and talk to her about over the phone," Buffy asked with an unconvinced frown on her face as she crossed her arms and silently dared Wesley to try again.

"Busted," Dawn exclaimed with an excited smile on her face before an angry glare from Buffy caused her to slink back into the living room in search of Spike.

"Okay yes there is trouble in Los Angeles, but we can handle it, the only reason that I came is that we needed Willow's hacking skills and Angel and I thought that it'd be easier for everyone if Willow accompany me back to Los Angels to do her work there," Wesley said with a slightly embarrassed frown on his face as he told most of the truth, but kept back a few of the more important details.

"That's it…why didn't you say so sooner…wait…no…I don't want to know…but you're sure that you guys can handle it, because Spike and I could…," Buffy said with a shocked look on her face as if she had expected more dire news before she relaxed and then had to work to finish out her reply.

"Thank you Buffy but that won't be necessary, all we need is Willow, it shouldn't take longer than a day at best," Wesley quickly said with a slight hitch in his voice before Buffy cast him a nervous eye and then walked out of the foyer.

"Okay so you lied your way through both Buffy and Dawn…but you can't lie to me…so what's really going on," Willow asked with a nervous smile on her face as she grinned up at Wesley, trying her best to sound tough but failing miserably.

"I didn't like Willow, we need you in Los Angeles to hack into California's power grid and tell us if Wolfram and Hart is consuming massive amounts of electricity, enough needed to power a totem that would be able to control an army of zombies and other demons," Wesley replied with a very nervous and serious frown on his face as he dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned in a bit closer to Willow.

"Oh…cool, just let me get my coat," Willow said with an odd smile on her face before she shrugged her shoulders and raced back up the stairs, leaving Wesley to stand around and try to work out what had just happened.

*                          *                          *                            *                 *                   *

Cordelia and the others had found Lindsey's room easily enough as Fred stood outside the door with a panic-stricken look on her face while Gunn stayed inside to keep watch.  Early on they learned that Elaine was still in surgery and probably would be for awhile.  Anne had gotten her own room as well but as of the time of their arrival had yet to utter a single word.  So an hour after arriving at the hospital everyone was sitting in the waiting room while Cordelia was doing her best to make a doctor believe that she and Elaine were related.  The former cheerleader was so far into her attempt that she failed to notice when a tired and worn out Angel slowly walked around the corner and sighed.

"Angel," Fred exclaimed with a relieved but yet also worried expression on her face as she almost bolted out of her chair and rushed over to his side.

"Everyone okay," Angel asked with a tired and worried look on his face as he leaned up against the wall.

"Pretty much…Elaine's in surgery, Anne's in her room but hasn't spoken a word in like…hours…and Lindsey's got his own room, Charles is with him now," Fred answered with a nervous and frightened frown on her face as she fought off a large yawn.

"Faith…," Angel asked with a slightly worried expression on his face as he turned towards the rogue slayer, who was sitting in one of the chairs with her feet pulled up onto the chair and her arms wrapped around her knees.

"You know me Angel…five by five, now where's Wesley," Faith replied at first with a generous and tired smile on her face before she glared ominously at Angel, as if she thought that Angel had eaten the former watcher.  Angel shifted uncomfortably in place before answering.

"He's fine Faith, I sent him to Sunnydale to pick up Willow, we think that it's possible that Wolfram and Hart are using their entire building as the totem to control the zombies, so we need Willow to hack into the system and find out if they're using a lot of electricity, if they are then we'll have found the totem," Angel said with a nervous shrug of his shoulders as he slumped down into a chair beside Faith and laid his head back.

"And if it turns out that the Wolfram and Hart building isn't the totem…what then Angel," Oz asked with a concerned look on his face as he turned around in his chair and looked over at Angel.

"Then at least we'll have one hell of a powerful witch on our side, that should help right…," Angel replied with a nervous smile and short laugh before he noticed that no one thought what he had said was very funny and stopped.

"Only if we're going to put on a performance of The Wizard Of Oz…but I doubt that Willow would want to play the witch…she'd say that it was to…," Oz started to say with a tired smirk on his face before Cordelia hurried over and interrupted the werewolf.

"Well that was a giant waste of time…," Cordelia exclaimed with a defeated and worried look on her face before she almost collapsed onto Angel's lap and threw her arm around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder.

"So I'm going to guess that you couldn't convince the doctor that you and Elaine were related," Angel asked with a slightly shell-shocked look on his face before he did his best to hide a sly grin.

"What does it take…I mean I tried everything that I know but…nothing worked," Cordelia moaned back softly with a defeated look on her face before Angel looped an arm around her waist and pulled her a bit closer.

"Right now it doesn't matter that we can't see Elaine, she should be in surgery for some time and I'm willing to be that whatever Wolfram and Hart plans on doing to her they'll want it to be as slow and painful as possible, and that can't happen as long as she's in the hospital," Arthur interjected with a serious but also somewhat relieved look on his face as he slowly began to pace around the waiting room.

"Unless they wait until she's in recovery and then snuff her out there…when she can't defend herself," Connor said with a nervous and frustrated look on his face as he slowly looked around at everyone in the waiting room, as if he was saying what everyone else was thinking but that no one wanted to actually say.  

"The kids right Angel, as soon as Elaine's out of surgery Wolfram and Hart will try to get to her, probably slip something into her iv or Angel they'll just use your tried and true method of smothering someone with their pillow," Faith added softly at first with a slightly unsure look on her face before she looked up at the ceiling and concealed the beginnings of an angry grin at the end.

"Hey…," Angel grumbled softly with a hurt frown on his face as he turned his head and looked past Cordelia's shocked face towards Faith.  Faith's only response was to shrug her shoulders and turn away.  

*                     *                                *                           *                       *                       *

"So how far along is she," Willow asked softly, with her hands folded on her lap, as she looked around at the interior of Angel's car while Wesley pulled out of Buffy's driveway and headed towards the outskirts of town.

"I'm sorry, how far along is who…," Wesley asked with an embarrassed smile on his face as he turned the air conditioner up a bit higher.

"You know who I'm talking about…Faith, how far along in her pregnancy…," Willow added with a smile of pure happiness on her face pretended to stare intently at the winding road in front of them.

"Not to far, it'll be another month or so before she starts to show, so until then she's been quite adamant about being in every fight that we come across, no matter the danger," Wesley replied with a nervous smile on his face before he caught Willow watching him and quickly looked away.

"Running headlong into terrible danger while pregnant…yeah that's Faith in a nutshell alright…so how are Angel and Cordelia doing, the last time we spoke she and Connor seemed to be…," Willow said with a well concealed smirk on her face as she stared out of the window and watched an old abandoned house fly by.

"Well Connor and Cordelia aren't as close as you remember anymore, things have cooled off between the two and now it's Angel that hears most of the fair Cordelia's opinions, while Connor is busy making sure that Jocelyn doesn't panic at the sight of a spider and bolt," Wesley replied with a slightly calmer smile on his face before he scratched his chin and made a mental note to shave before to long.  "Jocelyn is a young girl…about Connor's age in fact, he met her when we were rescuing Lindsey McDonald from Wolfram and Hart, it turns out that she's what's known as an empathy seer," Wesley added with a slightly frustrated look on his face after he noticed the question on Willow's lips that was just waiting to be asked.

"Wow…another empathy seer," Willow exclaimed with an awed gasp as she turned her full attention to the former watcher and almost looked like a young child opening their presents on Christmas morning and getting exactly what they had asked for all year long.

"Wha…how do you know about the…," Wesley started to ask with a flabbergasted and surprised expression on his face before Willow sensed what he was going to ask and answered for him.

"I know all about what an empathy seer is because when I spent time with the coven in England…after my little…Dark Phoenix Saga…one of the witches in the coven was an empathy seer, she taught me a lot about myself and what's really going on in the world…except she was also totally creepy at the same time…you couldn't lie to her…a word of advice from one friend to another, never play this Jocelyn girl in a game of poker, you'll lose every time, you can't bluff even a little bit," Willow replied with an almost bored look on her face before she finished with an excited smile on her face.

"That's very…interesting…Willow, but before we get to Los Angeles there is something…rather someone there that I feel that I should warn…no not warn, more like give you a head's up that he's there," Wesley concluded with an overwhelmed look of awe on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and looked back in his seat, laying his left arm on the door, feeling warmed by the hot sun on his arm.  

"Okay Wesley…whoever it is you'd better just tell me now because you're starting to scare me," Willow stated with a slightly nervous and worried look on her face as she leaned a little closer to Wesley, hoping that he had good news to tell her instead of bad news.

"It's just Oz Willow, I don't know the whole story but Wolfram and Hart kidnapped him, Kate Lockley, and Groo before doing God only knows what to them, a few days ago they arrived at the Hyperion with Fred's uncle Arthur," Wesley answered with a nervous frown on his face before he took the first off ramp that got the pair a bit closer to Los Angeles, never commenting on the myriad of emotions that screamed across Willow's face at the mention of her former lovers name. 

*                                *                         *                     *                         *                        *

"Don't let Faith get to you Angel, she's just worried about Wesley that's all," Cordelia said with a worried and sympathetic look on her face as she handed Angel a steaming hot cup of coffee as he did his best to stay away from the ever nearing rays of light.

"No Cordelia she's right, I do tend to overdue things, I let my emotions control me…," Angel mumbled with a very serious look on his face before he took a sip of coffee.

"So what else is new, seriously though Angel you should get some sleep, if you weren't a vampire and supposed to look like death warmed over then I'd," Cordelia started to say with an impatient frown on her face as she leaned in closer to Angel and began to lazily draw circles of the back of Angel's neck with her index finger.

"I can't sleep yet Cordy, at least not until Wesley and Willow get here and we figure out where that totem is that Wolfram and Hart is using to control all of the zombies," Angel muttered with a concerned look on his face before he closed his eyes and took another sip of coffee.

"We can do that without you being awake Angel, we already know what you want Willow to do and when we find something we'll wake you up," Cordelia said back through a tired yawn as she laid her head on Angel's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Seems like I'm not the only one that could use some sleep, when's the last time that you got a little rest," Angel whispered softly with a small hint of a smile on his face as he looped a supportive arm around Cordelia's waist and held the seer up as she seemed to be quickly headed towards falling asleep on his shoulder.

"Yesterday sometime…I think," Cordelia replied, still with her eyes closed, as it seemed that she was becoming more and more dead on her feet.

"Then it's been to long…c'mon let's get you to bed," Angel whispered back softly with a somewhat concerned look on his face as he set his coffee cup down on a table beside him and turned back to Cordy.

"Okay…but only if you come to," Cordelia whispered back softly with an almost childlike smile on her face as Angel held back a soft laugh.

"Your wish is granted," Angel added with a tender smile on his face before he almost literally carried the former cheerleader over to the empty couch in the waiting room and sat down at one end, holding the now softly snoring seer in his arms, it wasn't to long after that before Angel also slipped into a peaceful slumber.  As he started to carry her over towards the couch Faith had cast them only a sidelong glance before shutting all of the curtains.

END OF CHAPTER 22


	23. Little Red Riding Witch

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**Author's Note:  This story is almost done, with only a couple more chapters or so, maybe an epilogue to.  After I finish this part of the story I'll return to writing my others.**

**CHAPTER 23-LITTLE RED RIDING WITCH**

The last few miles to the Hyperion Willow had been forced to resort to almost yelling at Wesley to keep him awake.  Early on in their trek back to Los Angeles she had noticed that he had begun to yawn an awful lot and asked him when he had last slept.  He had only briefly cast his blue eyes her way before shrugging his shoulders in a weak lie.  She had decided against calling him on it when Wesley had launched into a full story of exactly what was going on, leaving out only the most sensitive details that he was sure that Angel didn't want everyone to know about just yet.  When Wesley pulled Angel's car up in front of the Hyperion Willow was already formulating exactly what she was going to do once she got inside.  No sooner had Willow walked into the lobby before the true gravity of the situation smacked her upside the head.

"Nice Wesley…you guys redecorating…," Willow asked with a confused and joking smile on her face as she slowly made her way into the old hotel's lobby, careful not to turn her ankle on the loose rubble that had once been the hotel's front wall and doors.

"I wish, redecorating would be a dream compared to the nightmare that we're facing at this point," Wesley replied softly through a yawn as he slowly made his way over towards the counter.

"It's really that bad huh," Willow asked with a concerned frown on her face as she walked up beside Wesley and laid a hopefully comforting and supportive hand on his back.

"Worse, I didn't tell you everything on the way over here, if we don't find that totem…before sunset…we could very well then have front row seats to the apocalypse," Wesley answered with an almost sarcastic smirk on his face before he was forced to stop talking momentarily and stifle a large yawn.

"Then I'd better get to work," Willow added with a worried expression on her face as she slowly walked around the counter and pulled her laptop out of her bag and set about getting everything ready.

"Yes…you should, meanwhile I'll…," Wesley started to say with a tired look on his face, as he rubbed his eyes, before Willow interrupted him with a fair amount of concern clearly evident in her voice.

"You'll fall asleep at the wheel before you get to the corner and get yourself killed, leaving Faith to raise that kid of yours all alone," Willow interjected with a serious look on her face before she walked back around to the front of the counter and looked up at Wesley.

"That won't happen Willow, I'm not going to…fall asleep at the wheel…and die," Wesley mumbled back his reply softly as he started to make his way back towards where the front doors had been situated.

"Whoa there mister…looks like you've given in to the grumpy side of the force again, how long has it been since you've gotten any sleep, a day…two…three…," Willow began to say with a very serious and somewhat worried look on her face before she added a question at the end with now a full look of concern on her face as she kept herself in between Wesley and the front doors.

"I think that I'm up to about two days…or so, lately I'm afraid that there hasn't really been much time for sleep, we've all been to busy trying not to get ourselves killed to…Willow I'm fine…really," Wesley replied with at first a short lived laugh before he slowly sat down on the only piece of furniture in the lobby that the previous nights battle hadn't overturned.

"You could've fooled me Wesley, do you realize that you've been yawning and rubbing your eyes pretty much ever since we left Sunnydale, I can't in good conscience let you walk out of those…doors…and get behind the wheel, now give me Faith's cell phone number and I'll call her and let her know that you're alright and you can get some sleep," Willow stated with a sarcastic frown on her face as she crossed her arms and sat down beside Wesley, holding her hand out for the phone number.

"Willow I don't…fine, but don't come crying to me if when you reach her she's not in a good mood," Wesley yawned back with a tired frown on his face as he absentmindedly began to softly scratch the back of his head.  As Wesley slowly began to ascend the stairs, a slightly startled looking Groo and Kate descended the stairs.

*                           *                          *                        *                          *                     *

He didn't know how long he had been out but when he awoke he found Cordelia still snuggled up against him, snoring softly in her sleep.  Given this golden opportunity Angel softly and carefully brushed the back of his hand against her cheek.  Cordelia barely seemed to notice the act in her slumber and kept right on sleeping.  Angel was to busy in his up close study of Cordelia's facial features to notice what everyone else in the waiting room was doing.  On the other side of the room Connor and Jocelyn were snuggled up together, fast asleep, with Connor's arms wrapped protectively around the slender redhead.  Arthur sat nearby that couple with a nervous Fred at his side, the two locked in conversation about the elder's days at Wolfram and Hart and what the law firm would do to him when they found out what he had done.  Oz paced the entire area of the room like a caged animal, unsure of exactly what he should be doing.  He had been in a waiting room before, and the utter feeling of helplessness had haunted him since that day.  There had been nothing that he could do to help Willow that night and at least this time the wounded parties weren't those that he loved dearly.  But they were still important enough for Angel and the others to be willing to die to protect them so Oz had kept his cool.  Faith had taken to walking up and down every single hallway in the hospital in the hope that the physical activity would grind away some of her nervousness at not hearing from Wesley.  By the time Angel woke up she had gotten through two levels and was still as wound up as ever.  Gunn had only exited Lindsey's room twice, both times a quick trip to the waiting room to make sure that everyone was still there and to give a progress report.

Elaine had come out of surgery well enough and as the morning stretched on into afternoon the doctors left her chances of survival as even at best.  They had said that she had lost a lot of blood and was possibly paralyzed, an assumption that they couldn't be sure about until the swelling had gone down some.  Angel eyed the clock wearily for a few moments after tearing his gaze away from Cordelia's face, sighing as he discovered that he had been asleep for almost five hours.  He began to wonder if Wesley and Willow had arrived safely back at the Hyperion and meant to call but Cordelia was sleeping so peacefully and he knew that she needed her sleep, they all did.

"So what do we do when we find this totem anyway Fred…if it's as big as Angel and Wesley think that it is it's going to be like impossible to destroy with anything that we have," Oz asked with a concerned and somewhat confused frown on his face as he finally stopped pacing around the waiting room and sat down beside the hopeful physicist.  

"I don't know…but I'm sure that Angel has a plan, he always has a plan," Fred replied with a nervous and slightly scared smile on her face as she looked over at Angel, who was still shifting his gaze back and forth between Cordelia's face and the clock.  

"Well he'd better, because it's another full moon tonight, and with the way that our luck's going I don't know if I'll be able to keep from transforming again," Oz said with a very serious frown on his face before Faith walked back into the waiting room.

"Please tell me that Wesley has called…anybody," Faith asked with a frustrated and slightly angry frown on her face as she put her hands on her hips and glared around the room.

"Sorry Faith, we haven't heard anything from Wesley yet, or Kate and Groo for that matter," Arthur replied softly with an unsure look on his face as he instead of looking straight at Faith glanced over at Cordelia, who stirred a bit but did not wake up.

"Fuck…where is he…," Faith cursed through an angry mumble as she stomped her foot on the floor and took the nearest open seat.

"Calm down Faith, Wesley probably got Willow back to the Hyperion and fell asleep on the couch or something simple like that…," Angel whispered loudly to Faith as she eyed the soul possessing vampire with an unconvinced look on her face.

"If you're that worried about him Faith maybe you should catch a cab back to the hotel…better yet drive back there yourself," Fred offered up with a nervous look on her face as she shied away from Faith's initial glare.

"Good idea Fred…except I'm going with you, I need…want to see Willow again," Oz started to say with an approving smile on his face as he slowly rose from his seat before he brushed an obnoxious hair off of his nose. 

"Whoa there slick…who said that you could," Faith started to say with a serious look of anger and reservation on her face as she quickly spun up and out of her chair to stand in front of Oz before Angel stepped in as he wrapped an arm tighter around Cordelia.

"Just go Faith…and take Oz with you, we'll keep watch here," Angel said with a serious and tired look on his face as Faith looked about ready to shout an angry denial but instead simply nodded her head towards first Oz and then the doors.

*                          *                          *                           *                      *                       *

True to Angel's prediction Wesley was indeed asleep on the couch, not waiting until after Willow had called Faith.  Willow had waited until Wesley fell asleep before slipping the small piece of paper with Faith's cell phone number on it into her pocket.  She fully intended to call the formerly rogue slayer but decided that there were far more important matters to attend to first.  Wesley had stumbled and yawned through an introduction as Kate's expression had changed from one of a nervous smile to one of a serious and concerned look when Wesley mentioned that Willow was a witch.  Groo seemed to hold Willow in awe, almost as if he expected her to cast a spell on him at any minute.  Willow said nothing but did notice that the buttons on Kate's shirt were off one and Groo's shirt was on inside out.  She had answered a few of Kate and Groo's questions as she sat back down behind the counter and turned her laptop on.  

"So…you're a witch…," Kate asked with an almost confused and unsure frown on her face as she leaned up against the counter.

"Yeah…for the fifth time, I'm a witch, but not the kind that cooks brew in cauldrons and flies through the air on magic broomsticks…okay sometimes I cook up the occasional spell in a pot but…I've never ridden a broomstick…," Willow started to say with an annoyed frown on her face as she ran her hands through her hair before she was interrupted by an amused voice from the doorway of the Hyperion.

"But only because you're afraid of getting splinters…," Oz exclaimed with a nervous and kind smirk on his face as he walked into the lobby, hands deep in his pockets.

"Oz…Oz," Willow mumbled softly at first, as if in awe and not sure that she had heard him, before she lifted her gaze up and met his, exclaiming the last part of her abbreviated statement.

"Yeah nice to see you to Will…now where's…ah there he is," Faith started to say with an angry scowl on her face before she looked over and saw Wesley sleeping quietly on the couch while a nervous Willow stood up and stepped around the end of the counter.

"Oz…you didn't tell us that you knew a witch," Groo asked with a confused and somewhat concerned look on his face as he turned around and leaned back up against the counter.

"Yeah…uh sorry about that, I kinda got distracted by all that was…going…on," Oz replied with a nervous and almost spaced out look on his face as he slowly made his way across the lobby towards Willow as she did the same, all the while keeping his gaze locked onto Willow's.  

"You didn't put a spell on him or anything did you," Faith asked with a serious and threatening frown on her face as she lifted up her head and glared across the lobby at Willow.

"N…no…he was really tired so I…ah crap, I had him give me your number so that I could call you…but then I forgot to…but I swear that I was going to…really," A very nervous Willow stuttered out quickly as she half turned towards Faith and hung her head a bit.  

"Yeah well…next time…don't forget," Faith said with still a very serious look on her face and her jaw set before she couldn't hold back a large yawn any longer.

"I'll remember that," Willow mumbled back with a nervous and scared smile on her face as she and Oz continued to inch closer to each other, seemingly afraid of getting to close to each other.  

"See that…you…do," Faith said back through a bevy of yawns as she curled up beside Wesley on the couch, lying her head on his chest.

"You know what Faith I…oh…," Oz started to say with an angry look on his face as he spun around to face Faith, but found that she had already fallen asleep and looked quite happy snuggled up next to Wesley.  

"They make a cute couple," Kate said softly with the faintest traces of a smile on her face as he eyed the sleeping pair before composing herself and looking away.

"Just like a couple of other people that I know," Oz interjected with a sly smirk on his face as he looked away from Kate's angry glare before Willow cut in.

"Oz…what are you…Wesley didn't say much," Willow asked with a slightly shaken look on her face as she looked first to the slumbering couple on the couch and then back to her former lover.

"Yeah well, there really isn't that much to say, Wolfram and Hart kidnapped us and did God knows what to us before Fred's uncle rescued us and brought us here, then came last night and the attack, we've all just been a bit busy…," Oz replied with a nervous look on his face as Kate and Groo both blanched a bit at the mention of their time spent as captives of Wolfram and Hart.

"But…," Willow started to say with a confused and worried look on her face before an odd beep from her laptop snapped her back to what she was doing.

"Willow…your computer's making noises…is that a good thing," Groo asked with an unsure look on his face as Kate stepped away from the counter and made her way over to the circular sofa before sitting down.

"Very…it means that I'm ready to start to search through California's power grid to figure out where that magic totem is that you guys are looking for," Willow answered with a slightly cheesy grin on her face as she hurried back around the corner of the counter and slid into her seat.

"But how are you going to know when you've found it…it's not like there's going to be a big flashing neon sign saying giant totem here…come destroy," An unhappy Kate said with a skeptical look on her face as she leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Way to be supportive of Willow's efforts Kate, if I didn't know better I'd think that you wanted her to fail," A nervous Oz said softly before he joined Willow behind the counter and cautiously looked back up at Kate.

"When it comes to computers I don't know where to begin, even though I've been living in this dimension for a few years I still can't…," An almost bored Groo started to say as he stood back up and made his way over to the circular sofa and sat down beside Kate, letting her lean her shoulder into his.  

"You two fight a clothes demon or something…because…," Oz asked through a repressed grin on his face as he tried not to stare at the condition of Kate and Groo's clothes.

"No…Oz what…shit…," Kate started to reply with a confused look on her face before she realized what Oz and Willow were staring at and tried her best to curse only under her breath.  Without another word Kate quickly stood up and dragged a confused Groo back out of the lobby.

"What is it with those two…," Willow asked softly as she raised her eyebrows in some confusion as she then tilted her head to look up at Oz, who shrugged his shoulders before answering.

"Kate used to be a cop and Groo came into this dimension from Pylea, not a place you'd want to take a vacation in anytime soon let me tell you…Groo used to date Cordelia but then they split up when she realized that she was in love with Angel, then Wolfram and Hart grabbed Groo, Kate, and I and I guess somewhere during that time…," Oz replied with a nervous smile on his face as he laid one hand on the back of the chair that Willow was sitting in and the other on the counter beside her laptop.  

"It all sounds like a bad plot from a soap opera or something," Willow mumbled softly with a slightly shocked and overwhelmed frown on her face before she also shrugged her shoulders and then set about her work.

*                             *                       *                         *                    *                            *

By the time that Cordelia finally woke up Angel was positive that he no longer had a left arm, as the entire extremity had gone numb almost an hour earlier.  Arthur had taken Gunn's place in Lindsey's room; keeping watch to make sure that no one took the former lawyer by surprise.  It hadn't taken long since Gunn had sat down beside Fred before he was fast asleep.  Jocelyn and Connor had stayed by themselves in the corner, with every so often Jocelyn wincing as if in pain and Connor comforting her.  Angel still puzzled at how close the two seemed to be, after never seeing his son take to someone so quickly.  But he guessed that their situation was one similar to how he and Buffy had started out, although he wasn't sure if Buffy had been as eager in the beginning as Jocelyn seemed to be.  With Faith and Oz having left a couple hours earlier the waiting room seemed to be a somewhat quieter place.

"Here's some more coffee…how's your arm," Cordelia asked through a tired yawn as she leaned down slightly and handed Angel a refilled cup of coffee, while he tried to shake the lethargy out of his left arm.  

"Thanks…still numb, but it'll be fine before to long, one of the advantages of being undead I guess," Angel replied meekly with a tired smile on his face before Fred's cell phone rang out loudly.

"Hello…Willow, how are…yes…okay…I'll tell him, bye," Fred said with a nervous and slightly timid look on her face before she looked over towards Angel.

"What did Willow have to say," Angel asked with a concerned and serious look on his face before he took a quick sip of coffee.

"She said that she's found the totem," Fred answered with a nervous look on her face as she tried to smile.

"That was quick," Cordelia added with an impressed and surprised look on her face before she sat down beside Angel and rubbed one side of her neck.

"Let me guess, just what we thought it was…," Angel said with a deadly serious frown on his face as Fred then meekly nodded her head and leaned in a bit closer to Gunn.  "Then it's settled, this all ends tonight, I want everyone to gather in the Hyperion's lobby exactly one hour before sundown, after that…we bring down the beast," Angel added with a tone of voice drenched in malice before he tilted his head back and drained the cup of coffee, ignoring it's temperature.

END OF CHAPTER 23


	24. So Here's What We're Gonna Do

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Arthur, Elaine, and Jocelyn.**

**CHAPTER 24-SO HERE'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO**

The sun cast oblong shadows through the rusted grate against the sewage slathered wall of the sewer as Angel let out a frustrated sigh.  The meeting had gone off better than the two and a half century old vampire had ever anticipated.  His plan hadn't taken very long to come up with and he had been expecting those around him, Faith especially, to attempt to wring his neck when she heard it.  However the formerly rogue slayer had surprised him and had given the plan her blessing, with one minor adjustment, a promise that if anything went wrong and something happened to Wesley there'd be a stake waiting for him at the end.  The empathy seer Jocelyn had bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from crying at the onslaught of emotions that she was getting from everyone as they heard and mulled the plan over in their minds.  The final had been given and the troops had been dispersed, mostly without incident.

And now as he waited for the sun to set, allowing his plan to be brought to fruition, Angel was getting more impatient than usual.  Someone on the outside would think that virtually living forever and never aging would allow someone to build up a tremendous amount of patience; however they'd never met Angel or Spike.  For the most part neither vampire had much patience with anything, with Angel leading that list.  During his glory days Angel had always thought of patience as a waste of time, but now as an axe wielding Wesley walked around the corner Angel wished that he would have tried a little harder in those early years.

"Everything secure," Angel asked with a nervous look on his face as he kept his gaze straight forward across the sewer tunnel, making sure to keep himself out of the way of any reflective surfaces.  

"Not exactly…but everything's as secure as we could have hoped for, Oz and Groo are in position in the parking garage, when you give the signal they'll slip out and start to plant the explosives," Wesley replied with a nervous frown on his face before he shivered a bit and coughed loudly.

"Are you sure that we gave them enough c4, because it was all that we could get on such short notice," Angel asked softly with an unhappy scowl on his face as he pulled his coat tighter around him, not for the warmth that he did not need but instead mostly out of habit.

"I believe that it'll be enough to…bring down the house…so to speak, and if what Arthur said is true about there already being a contingency plan that's outcome is the complete and sudden destruction of the building then…," Wesley answered with a very serious look on his face as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.  When he had woken up the sight and feel of Faith nearly clinging to him warmed his heart and gave him the odd sensation that no matter what happened he would see their child come into the world.  Initially upon opening her doe eyes his slayer had been very cross with him, mostly for his failure to call her and tell her that everything was alright.  But he had been able to dissuade her from venting her wrath on him by trailing a line of kisses from her collarbone up to her earlobe, a trick that he had learned on cold night when he and Faith had been watching a demon haunt.  The two had been staking out the old bar for days before anything fruitful had come of their pursuits.  Unfortunately the heater had gone out in his SUV that night and the two had been forced to snuggle together to stay warm.  That act hadn't been a chore but it hadn't taken long before Faith had gotten frustrated and riled up.  He had tried everything before finally hitting the jackpot.

"Our roles in this calamity will be brief and we can all get back to living our lives in some semblance of peace and quiet," Angel said with a peaceful but yet worried smile on his face as he leaned his head back up against the wall.

"Until the next apocalyptic harbinger rears his, her, its, or their ugly head or heads…then this will all start all over again and we'll be right back here with you wishing for a little peace and quiet," Wesley added with a somber expression on his face as he leaned back up against the wall beside Angel and waited.

*                                    *                  *                           *                    *                            *

Lindsey had been a handful ever since Angel had left the hospital.  More than once he had to be threatened with an odd colored liquid in a syringe.  Gunn had tried his best to demand to know what exactly was in the syringe.  All that he had gotten was that it was something that would calm Lindsey down.  The former lawyer had finally calmed back down when Fred had promised to go and keep watch over Elaine.  After some more begging and pleading Cordelia had finally been able to convince the doctors that she and Fred were related to Elaine, using the lie that they were cousins that felt more like sisters.  The doctor had been weary about their explanation but had been up for over a day and just wanted to finish his shift.  As per Angel's request Gunn had recruited his old crew into the war, setting them up throughout the city and directly out in front of the hospital.  To Gunn they would serve as his eyes and ears so that he could get word to Angel if anything happened or if anyone or anything from Wolfram and Hart tried to storm or slip into the hospital.  After almost biting her tongue off to keep from speaking up Faith had sulked back to the hospital to serve as the muscle for the defense of those at the hospital.  In their final heart wrenching exchange before Wesley followed Angel into the sewers Faith had almost shattered all of Wesley's ribs with the force of her hug, an act that she could finally do in front of others.  Before that Wesley had knelt down on the sidewalk in front of Faith and laid his hand over her still smooth and flat stomach under her shirt and mouthed the words to a silent prayer, an act which elicited a quick shiver and gasp from Faith at the contact between her warm flesh and his ice cold hand, with an almost sad smile on his face.  Angel had begun to formulate a question as to exactly what it was that the former watcher was doing when he caught a pair of tears slip down Faith's cheeks out of the corner of his eye.  In a simulated heartbeat he could empathize with Wesley and had turned away and removed the manhole cover before climbing down into the sewer tunnels.

*                            *                         *                          *                         *                       *

"Okay now, explain this all to me again please because…I'm not understanding Angel's plan," A very obviously worried Kate asked with an impatient frown on her face as she ran a hand through her hair and turned around to face Willow.  The two had stayed behind at the Hyperion in case anyone returned there, mostly the reporter and her cameraman.  The Wolfram and Hart guards that had attacked earlier had all been shipped off one of Angel's contacts, with a deal being struck to keep them there until Angel said differently.  Willow had snickered at the sight of the former policewoman in a vain attempt to convince herself that she was okay with the plan.

"It's simple, Angel and Wesley create a diversion that draws out whatever it is that Wolfram and Hart is planning to do while Oz and Groo sneak in and set the charges, you have to admit this kind of stuff is fun," Willow answered with at first an almost annoyed frown on her face before her countenance changed to an almost embarrassed smile at the end.

"But what about the kid, Connor, what's he supposed to do," Kate asked as she slowly nodded her head and leaned forward onto the counter that Willow sat behind.

"I…uh…I don't know exactly…Angel didn't really say what Connor was supposed to do, but whatever it is I'm sure that it's something…important, he's probably with Jocelyn somewhere," Willow replied with a nervous stutter and smile on her face as she dropped her chin into the palm of her upturned hands as her elbows rested on each side of her laptops keyboard.  

*                            *                          *                      *                   *                               *

Upon the sun's final last gasp of light before slipping into nightfall Groo had stifled more than half a dozen sneezes as he and Oz had hid themselves in the back of a delivery truck.  Angel and Wesley had helped Oz and Groo to load the back as full of c4 as they could before Arthur had driven the truck into the parking garage and then made a hasty retreat back out to the street where he caught a cab and headed back towards the Hyperion.  Oz propped a door leading into the building open with an old chair after he had disabled all of the security cameras that could possibly catch them in the act and alert the guards.  Groo had worked as fast as he could to get the c4 from the truck and into the building before Oz sent a message to Angel's pager that everything was going according to plan with phase one being completed and that he and Wesley should begin phase two.

"Well…that's our cue," Angel muttered softly with a very serious look on his face as he turned his head towards Wesley before the two moved the manhole cover aside and crept up out of the sewers.

"Just how big of a diversion were you planning on causing," Wesley asked with an equally serious look on his face as he and Angel ducked down behind the fountain after having run across the street.

"Big enough that we draw out their big guns Wes, our object is to get Penn and the golem out here so that they won't be ready for our little surprise, after the building is destroyed then the golem should cease to be right…," Angel answered with a slightly hesitant look on his face as he cast a quick look up at the Wolfram and Hart tower.  

"That's the theory anyway…but this explosion is going to make the one that destroyed our old offices look like a sparkler compared to an atomic bomb, we're going to have to be at least a couple of miles or more away before we set it off, or else they'll be scraping us off of the sidewalk with spatulas…well me anyway, all that they'll need for you would be a broom," Wesley said with a weak grin on his face before he uttered a short laugh but stopped quickly because of the angry glare that Angel cast his way.  

"Very funny Wesley, if I didn't know you any better I'd think that you're in the wrong profession," Angel added with a slight snicker as he spun around a bit so that he was now squatting behind the fountain.

"So shall I announce our presence at the mouth of hell," Wesley asked with a quizzical smile on his face as he pulled a makeshift bomb out of his backpack and cocked an eyebrow towards the tower.

"We shall…," Angel whispered back softly with a worried smirk on his face as he edged away from Wesley, who pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit the fuse.  With a quick run up and then throw Wesley flung the bomb towards the front doors of the Wolfram and Hart tower.  The explosion that followed blew out the front set of doors and showered the lobby with razor sharp shards or glass.  "You think they heard that," Angel asked with an expectant smile on his face as he slid his sword out from underneath his coat.

"I'd say that it's a good possibility," Wesley interjected back with a short laugh as he readied his axe before a furious Penn stormed out of the smoke and debris, followed closely behind by a small army of vampires.  With only a slight nod towards each other Wesley and Angel leapt from behind the fountain and charged at Penn.

*                         *                       *                             *                    *                       *

"Shit…I should be out there doing something, at least watching their backs," Faith growled with an angry and impatient scowl on her face as she stomped her foot while leaning her forehead against the darkened hospital window.

"You should try to relax Faith, I know that you're worried about Wesley but…," A nervous and slightly twitching Fred started to say with a scared look on her face as she looked up at Faith from her seat on the couch before Faith cut in.

"Worried…Fred…worried, no I'm not worried…I'm not even close to being worried, the only man that I've ever truly loved in my entire life, the man that even after everything that I put him through found it within himself to not hate and despise me…and then to trust me enough to be the mother of his child…so no…I'm not worried," Faith shot back with a very serious and well hidden look of extreme terror on her face as she half turned her head back towards the lithe Texan before turning it back to stare out into the night.

"Okay…not worried…terrified, definitely terrified," Fred mumbled softly to herself as if she expected herself to experience a panic attack at any second.

"Damn straight…I don't think that I can do this…have and raise this child…by myself…if Wesley doesn't make it then…I don't want to make it either, we either both live…or we both die, that's all that there is to it," Faith added with a sunken look of defeat on her face as she turned away from the window and slumped down into the nearest chair, staring longingly at the floor in an attempt to not look Fred in the eye.

"What…whoa now wait a damn minute, Wesley will make it through this and so will you…you just have to keep the…faith…," Fred shouted with a very serious and somewhat angry frown on her face as she jumped to her feet and glared over at Faith, who only half lifted her gaze before returning it to the floor.

"Yeah, you're right…sorry, I guess that all of this negativity is just my guilt bubbling up to the surface and rearing its ugly head, I'm just not sure that…," Faith started to apologize with a sincere look on her face before she stopped speaking abruptly and rushed back to the window.

"What is it," Fred shouted with an alarmed look on her face before she hurried over to Faiths side and looked in the direction that Faith was pointing.  Off in the distance, slowly approaching the hospital from first one direction and then the other, was what looked like an endless stream of zombies.

"Shit…shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…," Faith mumbled angrily with a very worried look of awe and surprise on her face before she pushed away from the window and tore off down the hallway, almost knocking over an orderly in the process.

*                            *                         *                         *                         *                    *

"Do you hear something…," Kate asked with a nervous frown on her face as she stood in the remains of the blown out front doors of the Hyperion.

"Uh…nope, just the wind and the traffic out front, other than that…just you and the hum of my laptop here," Willow replied with a slightly nervous frown on her face as she leaned back in her chair.

"You mean you can't hear that…it sounds kind of like…Willow look out," Now an even more nervous Kate started to ask with a wide eyed look of concern on her face before a snarling demon tumbled into the lobby.

"Whoa…Kate...," Willow started to shout with a scared look on her face before she scrambled over the top of the counter and rushed towards Kate, who was in the process of going for her gun.

"Willow get down," Kate shouted loudly with a very serious and dramatic look on her face before the snarling demon charged towards the two women.

"Kate…," Willow shouted as she ducked behind Kate and covered her ears and close her eyes tight as three shots rang out.  With a hefty splatter of blood around the lobby the snarling demon slumped to the floor, drowning in its own blood.

"Well now…that wasn't so hard…," Kate started to say with a proud smile on her face before a trio of snarling demons rushed into the opposite side of the lobby, enraged at the sight of their dead comrade.

"Then I guess that they should be no problem right…," Willow said with a slightly overwhelmed look on her face as she desperately tried to think of a spell to aid in their defense.  

"Sorry Willow but I don't think that I have that many bullets," Kate shouted back with a very serious look on her face as she stared down the enraged snarling demons from across the lobby.

"Then let's hope that you're a good shot…come on," Willow started to say with a scared smile on her face before she grabbed Kate's arm and the two took off up the stairs.  The snarling demons in the lobby leapt after Kate and Willow just as the two women got to the top of the stairs and flew around the first corner.  The next several seconds and minutes felt like hours as Kate and Willow sped off up through the old hotel, with the three snarling demons in hot pursuit.  When they got to the roof Willow had to help Kate push the door shut and lock it before the demons that were following them got close enough.

"Okay we're on the roof, what now," Kate asked with a frustrated and slightly scared look on her face as she ran towards the edge of the roof and looked over the edge.

"Well…we stay here until sunrise…that or until I figure out a spell to help us…," Willow stammered out with an unsure look on her face as she bent over in an attempt to catch her breath.

"Well act fast because…oh my God…Willow," Kate started to say with a nervous and impatient look on her face before she shivered in the breeze.

"What is it…Kate…Kate…oh no," Willow gasped back with a worried look on her face before she hurried over to the edge and looked down.  From every direction came a seemingly never ending army of zombies, all seeming to be heading straight towards the Hyperion.

*                         *                         *                            *                       *                         *

The battle near the fountain had gone better than Angel had anticipated, an outcome that slowed his and Wesley's push into the building.  Penn had started to fight first Wesley and then Angel.  But when it started to become clear that Wesley and Angel were going to win the fight Angelus' former protégé had thought twice and raced back into the building, yelling death threats over his shoulder as he went.  They had made it down into the first level of the basement before they had run into any problems that couldn't be remedied with a simple swing of an axe or sword.  During one of those fights one of the demons got a little to close for comfort with its weapon on Angel and since Angel didn't feel and injuries he killed the demon and pressed on with Wesley close behind guarding his back.  The two burst through a pair of heavy doors before Angel slipped on the newly wet floor and was sent tumbling to the ground, with the detonator to the c4 skidding across the floor.

"Wesley…the detonator," Angel shouted with an alarmed look on his face as he tried to contort his body so that he would never let the detonator out of his sight.

"Okay I…," Wesley started to say with a concerned look on his face before a shot rang out and once again Wesley felt the shock and pain of a small projectile of hot lead smashing into his body, this time instead of into his stomach the bullet bit into his left shoulder, sending lighting bolts of pain through his body.  Wesley grunted in pain and collapsed to the ground, his right hand pressed over the wound in a desperate attempt to try and stop the blood.  Angel shouted in alarm and slipped into game face before he spun around to face Wesley's attacker.  Had he been human he very well might have had a heart attack when his gaze met a very serious looking Arthur, detonator in hand, holding a still smoking gun aimed directly at Wesley.

END OF CHAPTER 24


	25. Knots Unraveled Eternally

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Arthur, Elaine, and Jocelyn.**

**CHAPTER 25-KNOTS UNRAVELED ETERNALLY**

Gunn had just started to nod off for a chance to rest his tired eyes when an almost frantic Faith burst into the room, not caring to shut the door behind her.  He was just about to lurch to his feet and shut the door behind her, with a stern remind of exactly who it was that was in the room with them and what their mission was when she cut him off with the dire news.

"Sorry Gunn but we've got trouble," Faith exclaimed with a very serious and concerned frown on her face as she cast a quick glance towards Lindsey to make sure that he was still okay.

"How bad," Gunn asked with an annoyed yawn as he rushed to the doorway and quickly looked both ways before returning his gaze to Faith.

"Trouble with a capital trouble, we've got zombies and God knows what else approaching from all sides, I think that Wolfram and Hart is making its big push," Faith answered with a very grim frown on her face as she walked to the window and drew back the curtains.

"Damn…where's Fred," Gunn said with a very serious look on his face as he stared out of the window and saw the slowly approaching army of the undead.

"She's back in the waiting room, I think that she's trying to get in touch with Angel but I can't be sure, once I saw the zombies coming I ran straight here," Faith replied with an impatient look on her face as she leaned in close for a look of her own.

"Go back and keep watch in the waiting room with Fred, hopefully she can get in touch with Angel," Gunn said with a very serious look on his face as he kept his gaze locked on the events taking place in the street below.  Already the army of zombies had gotten to the front doors of the hospital, killing or shoving aside anyone that they came into contact with.  

*                       *                        *                             *                      *                            *

The events of the prior few seconds flashed again through Angel's mind as he stared straight ahead at the man that he thought was his friend.  A friend that had just shot arguably his best friend and held the detonator that was tied to the c4 that would bring the whole Wolfram and Hart down.

"Ar…Arthur…what is this," Angel gasped out in total disbelief as he hesitated to go to Wesley's aid or to kill, in his mind, the backstabbing son of a bitch in front of him.

"You wouldn't understand Angel, but for what it's worth it wasn't supposed to go down like this, none of you were supposed to get hurt, now leave before I do something else that I'll regret," Arthur said, his voice more than a little shaky, as Angel could almost see the waves of fear and nervousness washing off of him.

"You'd be surprised what I'd understand," Angel said with a threatening scowl on his face as he took a step towards Arthur, who backed up a step but kept the barrel of the gun pointed directly at Angel's chest.  "That thing won't kill me…," Angel added softly with an angry frown on his face as the edges of his mouth curled up into the beginnings of a smirk.

"I know that it won't kill you…this isn't your time champion, you still have a lot of good to do in this world before it's your time, so does Wesley," Arthur said softly with the faintest traces of a smile on his face as he shifted his gaze back and forth between Angel and the bleeding former watcher.

"You seem to know a lot more about me than I know about you…so tell me…does Fred know that you're just a bastard that you'd betray…," Angel started to say with a sinister smirk on his face as he clenched his hands into fists.

"Betrayal…that's funny coming from you it really is, Angelus…the killer with the face of an angel talks to me about betrayal, do you want to know what betrayal truly is vampire, true betrayal is working for a company for decades, building a life…a home, with the woman that you love and to then be blessed with children…," Arthur nearly screeched back at Angel for a bit before his voice cracked and a tear slipped out before he continued.  "But none of that matters now, nothing matters anymore, they took my family…my life…away from me and now they're going to pay, they're all going to pay, do you hear me," Arthur started to say with a very shaky tone to his voice before he looked straight up and shouted the last bit.

"You're not making any sense…now why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't wring your traitorous neck right here and leave your body here in…," Angel started to say with a very angry look on his face before he slipped his game face on and took another step towards Arthur.

"You'd do that wouldn't you Angel, you may play the hero but no matter how hard you try the demon is still inside of you, begging to get out, but you can't let it win…or else the entire world will be in danger…and as for me…well I died the day that my family was killed…," Arthur said with a very sad look on his face as he took another step back away from Angel and swallowed hard as he fought back the tears.

"You almost sounded heroic for a bit there…but there's nothing heroic about…," Angel started to say with a mocking smirk on his face before Arthur cut in.

"If I had wanted to kill Wesley Angel I would have…chew on that thought for a bit while I put my plan into motion," Arthur said with a deadly serious frown on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and disappeared into the darkness.

"Shit…," Angel cursed angrily under his breath as he took a step forward to go after Arthur but a groan from Wesley stopped him in his tracks.

"Angel…," Wesley gasped out through gritted teeth as he struggled to right himself while holding his bleeding left shoulder tightly.  

"Don't move…," Angel exclaimed with a worried and almost frantic look on his face as he hurried to Wesley's side and knelt down.

"Why did he…Arthur…I thought," Wesley managed to babble out before he coughed up a little blood and fell silent.

"I don't know, he said something about his family being killed and wanting to get revenge…," Angel replied with a very nervous and concerned look on his face as he helped Wesley up and over to a chair before the former watcher grunted in pain as he peeled the left sleeve of his coat back.

"On who…us…Wolfram and Hart…," Wesley asked softly with a look of total confusion and disbelief on his face before Angel hesitantly touched the wound, causing him to shout in pain.

"Sorry…he wasn't really very clear, he started to babble off at the mouth…," Angel answered with a very serious look on his face as though Wesley nearly cracked his teeth from the pressure of his gritting them Angel was able to cut Wesley's shirt away from the wound.

"He has the detonator…we have to stop him…get it back…," Wesley added with a pained grimace on his face before a lone tear slid down his cheek.

"We will don't worry…even if I have to pry it from his lifeless hands," Angel said with a very grim scowl on his face before he began to frantically scan the contents of the room to try to find something to use as a bandage to attempt to stop the bleeding.

*                      *                     *                            *                                *                       *

"How much further…," A frustrated and annoyed Buffy asked as she leaned back in her seat, glared over at Spike, and crossed her arms.

"Not much longer luv, but once we get to Los Angeles we're going to need junior back there to give us directions," Spike replied with a nervous smile on his face as he pressed the accelerator down a little farther and nodded his head back towards Jocelyn and Connor.  The duo had been transported to Sunnydale via an old associate of Angel's that he had been hesitant to use before because of the enormous level of payment that the demon asked for in exchange for her services.  Upon landing in Sunnydale Connor and Jocelyn had rushed to Revello Drive and brought Spike and Buffy up to date on Angel's plan.  Minutes later the quartet was on the road to Los Angeles, a chest full of weapons in the trunk of Spike's beaten up old DeSoto.

"Actually I don't know the way…above ground anyway, I usually take the tunnels under the city to get anywhere, the streets are to confusing," Connor said softly, from the back seat, with a slightly embarrassed frown on his face as Buffy sighed and shook her head.

"We'll get there in time pet don't worry…you're one of the hero types…you always get there just in the nick of time and save the day from the machinations of villain types like me and Peaches," Spike said with a reassuring look on his face and tone to his voice as he reached over and gently squeezed Buffy's left shoulder.

"I hope you're right Spike," Buffy softly answered back with a very worried look on her face as she slipped a hand up and took Spike's hand into hers.

"I sense love…lots of it…hidden beneath fears or what former loves would say…and fears of a possible future…a future that could be bright…could be dark…it all depends on who lives through the night," Jocelyn interjected with an odd and quirky look on her face as she cocked an eyebrow and stared at Connor, who regarded her with a confused look on his face.

"Eh now…what's that supposed to mean…you a mind reader or something," Spike demanded with an unsure and slightly threatened look on his face as he glared back at Jocelyn, prompting the empathy seer to cringe back in fear and bury her face into Connor's shoulder.

"I don't think she meant anything by it Spike…although she is seriously wigging me out," Buffy chided Spike softly with a very unimpressed scowl on her face, the one that she always used when he had done something wrong and hadn't realized it yet.

"She can't help it…she's an empathy seer, she sees and feels the future, everyone's future…," Connor growled with almost a frantic tone to the young man's voice as he tried his best to console Jocelyn.

"Great…can she see who's going to win the next Super Bowl because I'm a little short on cash and…," Spike started to say with a cocky grin on his face as he cast a quick glance back over his shoulder at Connor, before stopping abruptly as Buffy loudly cleared her throat and pulled her hand away.

"We have to get there…my father sent us to get the two of you because you're the strongest two fighters that he knows…," Connor said with a very serious and also somewhat confused look on his face as he looked back and forth between Spike and Buffy.

"Peaches said that…," Spike asked softly with a completely flabbergasted and taken by surprise look on his face as he seemed genuinely in awe of the statement.

"Pretty much…he kind of mumbled through the part about you being a good fighter though, I heard plenty about Buffy…," Connor said with a slightly timid look on his face as he leaned back a bit in his seat and took Jocelyn with him.  

"Sounds like the soddin wanker all right…," Spike mumbled angrily under his breath as his DeSoto sped off into the night.

*                         *                           *                      *                     *                            *

"Lock and barricade the doors, don't let them get inside," An orderly shouted to the hospital's maintenance crew as they desperately struggled to lock the front doors and keep the zombies out.

"This is all just a little too much Resident Evil for my taste," Faith said with a very unhappy frown on her face before she winced a bit in discomfort and placed a hand on her stomach.  

"Faith…," A worried and frightened Fred asked with a look of panic on her face as she hurried forward to help the maintenance workers bar the front doors of the hospital.

"Go on…I'm fine…nnh…something's wrong with Wesley…he's hurt…," Faith answered with a worried and slightly confused look on her face before the pain became too intense and she had to sit down quickly in the nearest chair.

"It's no use…they're to strong…," An elderly janitor shouted with a look of sheer terror on his face as he dropped the mop that he had been holding and started to hurry away from the doors as fast as he could.

"Shit…," Faith cursed out loud with an angry grimace on her face as she forced herself to stand up and snap the end of a nearby mop off so that she was not without a weapon to defend herself with.

"Watch out," Fred shouted with a very alarmed look on her face as she rushed forward and tried to push the doors back closed but got a little bit to close and one of the zombies thrust its hand through the glass and latched onto Fred's arm.  The last thing that Faith remembered before a panic-stricken Gunn charged past her was the sound of the Texan's terrified blood curdling scream as one of the zombie bit down on her arm while others began to pull her out through the front doors.

*                      *                           *                                *                         *                     *

Lorne hustled his way further down the sewer tunnel in a desperate attempt to elude his pursuer.  One of the trio of snarling demons that had initially charged up the stairs after Kate and Willow had caught his scent somehow and was now stalking him.  Lorne had been in the middle of mixing himself a much needed drink when the demon had violently burst into his room and missed him by barely half an inch.  He was unharmed, except for a deep groove on his right horn that he guessed would probably never fully heal.  He hoped with all of his heart that Kate and Willow were alright but since he was to much of a coward, coupled with the fact that fighting was never really his thing Lorne decided that his best course of action was to simply keep running and hope that his pursuer would finally lose interest and leave him alone.

*                         *                            *                      *                   *                            *

"I think I saw this exact situation in a movie once…although if I remember correctly it didn't end very well," Kate said with a very serious look on her face as she looked over at Willow, who was thinking deeply in an attempt to figure out exactly which spell to use.

"We're not going to die Kate, not as long as I have anything to say about it," Willow started to say with a very serious look on her face before she turned away as he eyes clouded over with darkness.

"Well talk about you want, but I doubt that any of those zombies down there or our pissed off friends trying to break through that door at this moment will stop in their tracks because of anything that you have to say," Kate added with a very pessimistic look on her face before she looked back over the edge of the Hyperion and grimaced at the assembling army of zombies below.

"But if I use a magic spell then they won't know what…hit…them," Willow started to say with an almost sly smirk on her face before her voice was drowned out as the door that had been protecting them was violently shoved off of its hinges and two of the three snarling demons from before leapt out onto the rooftop, followed behind by a trail of hungry zombies.

*                         *                      *                           *                   *                             *

"That's the last one, come on Groo let's get out of here and give Angel the signal so that we can all go home," Oz said with a slightly triumphant smile on his face as he stood up and lightly patted Groo on the shoulder.

"Are you sure that this is enough Oz, because we're only going to get one shot at this and we can't mess anything up," Groo asked softly with a concerned frown on his face as he slumped his shoulders a bit and looked down at Oz.

"Don't worry Groo, we're not going to mess this up, now all that we have to do is…," Oz started to say with a slightly taken aback look on his face before he started to smile but was interrupted.

"Now all that you have to do is get out while you can and make sure that you take Angel and Wesley with you, you all have to much of your lives left to live to perish here with an old schmuck like me," Arthur said with a very serious look on his face as he slowly walked out of the shadows with the gun still in his hand and the detonator in his pocket.  "Don't ask any questions Oz…you either Groo, I don't need you to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, all that I ask is that Winifred doesn't hate me for what I'm going to do, and that you tell her that it was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do in my life not to tell her my plans," Arthur added with a deep look of sadness and regret on his face as he kept the gun pointed straight at Oz's heart.

"Oh…okay…just don't shoot…we'll do…come on Groo let's go," Oz stammered out with an overwhelmed look on his face before he started to push a totally flabbergasted Groo out of the parking garage.

"Such a touching moment…if I didn't know weeks ahead of time that you'd try something stupid like this Arthur I might actually have been surprised," A mocking voice rang out from the shadows before the golem slowly limped into the light, grinning from ear to ear with a nervous Penn by its side.

"I expected you sooner you know, you've let me down…," Arthur replied, trying his best to sound cocky but failing miserably, as he took a step back away from the golem and Penn.

"To bad for you foolish human…do you really think that anything that you do here tonight can actually bring them back," Penn asked with an overly mocking smirk on his face as he produced a sword from behind his back.

"You're right monster, I can't bring them back, but I can get them justice…and I will, even if it means my life," Arthur replied with an angry scowl on his face as he kept the gun pointed at first Penn and then the golem while fishing around in his pocket for the detonator.

"Justice…heh, that's such a quaint…human…notion, and as for your life your definitely going to die here tonight, but not before we have a little fun first…," The golem exclaimed with a delighted smirk on its face before it nodded its head towards Arthur and Penn began advancing.

END OF CHAPTER 25


	26. A Time To Be Born, A Time To Die

**THREE STRIKES**

**Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.**

**CHAPTER 26-A TIME TO BE BORN, A TIME TO DIE**

"Nice place Peaches has here…," A weary Spike started to say in jest as he pulled his DeSoto up to the curb in front of the old hotel before something caught Buffy's eye and she tightly grabbed his arm.

"Spike…are those…," Buffy asked with a confused and worried look on her face as she pointed off into the distance at a growing mass of zombies slowly moving towards them.

"This is just great…zombies, who'd Angel piss of this time," Spike replied with a nervous and frustrated frown on his face as he slumped back into his seat and shut the car off.

"What are you doing…we have to run," Jocelyn asked with a terrified look on her face as the empathy seer looked to be on the verge of tears.

"We can't run Jocelyn, Angel wanted our help and we're not going to let him down…right Spike…Spike…," Buffy started to say with a nervous smile of reassurance on her face before her countenance changed drastically and her tone changed to make the end of her statement a thinly veiled threat.

"Of course pet…soddin git always pulling me into one hopeless situation after another," Spike growled softly under his breath before he threw open the door and leapt out just as Buffy crawled out without opening her door.

"Not yet Spike, we have to get…ah forget it," Buffy started to say with an angry frown on her face before she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.  Rather than let the zombies come to him Spike took the initiative and launched himself at the first line of zombies, slipping into his game face as he went.  "Connor, Jocelyn come on let's get inside while Spike keeps them distracted," Buffy added with a worried and almost frantic look on her face as she kept shifting her gaze back and forth between Spike fighting and a terrified Jocelyn being coaxed out of the backseat of the DeSoto by a nervous Connor.

"Shouldn't you…help him," Jocelyn asked with a very nervous and scared look on her face as her feet hit the sidewalk in front of the Hyperion.

"I will Jocelyn, once you're inside and safe," Buffy answered with a very serious frown on her face before she winced in pain and instantly her hand was over her stomach.

"What's wrong…Buffy," Connor asked with a panicked look on his face as he reached out and laid a hand on Buffy's shoulder.

"It's…it's nothing Connor, just the undercooked chicken that I had earlier coming back to haunt me…see all better now, come on you two let's go," Buffy mumbled back softly at first through another wince of pain before she managed a weak smile and stood up, trying to allay Connor's worries.  Without another word, but unconvinced looks from Connor, Buffy managed to get the two teens into the Hyperion while Spike tore into the zombies.

*                                 *                         *                           *                      *                       *

"Come on Wesley, we're almost there…just a bit further," Angel said with a tired edge to his voice as by the time that they reached the towers front doors he was nearly supporting all of the former watcher's weight.  Even though Wesley hadn't been shot in the leg the combination of the fight earlier against Penn and his legion and the bullet and loss of blood had taken their toll.  

"I don't know…if I can…," Wesley mumbled back softly in reply as he struggled to keep his feet firmly under him and to stay conscious.  

"Yes you can…think about Faith…," Was all that Angel had to say before he felt a light lessening of his burdening of Wesley's weight.  He could tell immediately that his words had the affect that he hoped that they would.  

"Thanks…," Wesley choked out through a pained smile on his face before the two got to the edge of the sign in front of the towers and Wesley wearily sat down.

"I thought that'd help, that trick used to work with Buffy for me, but we really should get you to a doctor," Angel said with a nervous smirk on his face before he looked away to see if there was a car that he could commandeer to get Wesley to the hospital with.

"N…no, I'll make it…I've had worse…remember, you need to get back inside and make sure that Oz and Groo make it out, and stop Arthur if you can, he's not thinking straight, letting his sadness and anger blind him," Wesley sputtered out through the quick and pained breaths that he was taking before he grabbed Angel's shoulder with his free hand to further emphasize his last point.

"I'll make sure that Groo and Oz are okay, but I'm not going to leave you here…," Angel started to reply with a nervous look on his face before Wesley cut in.

"Just go Angel, I can handle things out here myself, besides I'm not entirely defenseless," Wesley interjected with a grim smile on his face before he picked up a discarded sword from the previous battle and shook it to Angel to try to further make his point.

"Right…but if you die before I get back…," Angel said with a very serious look on his face as he hesitantly started to go back towards the front doors.

"Just go…there's no telling how much longer we have," Wesley shouted as loudly as he could before Angel seemed to figure out what Wesley meant and hurried back inside.

*                 *                         *                               *                       *                            *

"Shit," Faith growled with an angry, and secretly petrified look on her face and tone to her voice, before she snapped out of the momentary stupor that she had been in and was able to rush forward to help Gunn.

"Fred," Gunn shouted with a voice full of all of the pain and fear of a man that had just seen the woman that he loved bitten by a zombie and with the knowledge of what that meant.  He had no sooner gotten to the hospitals front doors when the zombies forced their way through them.  Fred struggled as best she could against the zombies but already her strength was waning and she quickly found herself being pulled back and away from Gunn.  That was the case until Faith joined the fray.  Like a force of nature the formerly rogue slayer and future mother channeled all of her pent up fears about her own health and safety along with fears about Wesley through her hands and into her weapon.  The first few zombies that were unlucky enough to be in her path were met with the end of the mop being jammed clean through their eye sockets and back through their brain.  The back of the second zombies head exploded at the force of Faith's attack as the weapon soon became extremely close to being stuck in the creatures head as it slumped to the ground.  But by gritting her teeth and pulling hard Faith had been able to dislodge her improvised weapon and continue the fight.  Gunn on the other hand fought with the fury of a desperate man, using anything that he could get his hands on.  An old man's walker had been turned into an item to be used to shove zombies out of the way without letting them get to close while a can had been put to good use mimicking Faith's attacks.  The pair got a sudden and surprising ray of light in their efforts when Cordelia emerged out of one of the elevators with a gun in her hands.

"Get down," Cordelia shouted at the top of her lungs before she aimed the gun at the zombies that were attacking Fred and pulled the trigger, affording Faith and Gunn barely a second to dive out of the way.

*                          *                       *                      *                   *                           *

"What…," Spike asked with a very confused and concerned look on his face as he looked around at the devastation that confronted him in the Hyperion's lobby.  Not to mention the dead demon lying sprawled out on the floor by the counter, several bullet holes clearly visible.  

"That thing wasn't here when he left…something must have happened to…," Connor started to say with a look of imminent foreboding on his face before Spike, Connor, and Buffy jerked their heads upward as their heightened senses caught wind of muffled nearby gunshots and a scream that to Buffy and Spike sounded a little bit to much like Willow.

"Red…that sounded like Willow," Spike exclaimed with a shocked look on his face as he turned back to Buffy, who only nodded a quick reply before she turned and ran to what was left of the weapons room, grabbing two swords.

"I can feel fear and panic…high up, on the roof, you need to hurry," Jocelyn added with a terrified and meek look of panic on her face as she began to slowly step away from Buffy and Spike and head towards the counter.

"Yeah…come on Spike," Buffy said with at first a nervous look on her face before she tossed one sword to Spike and raced towards the stairs.  As she and Spike raced up the stairs she caught sight of Connor arming himself with weapons out of the corner of her eye.  Seconds after Spike and Buffy disappeared around the first corner the first of the zombies staggered to the shattered entrance of the Hyperion.

*                      *                     *                            *                         *                            *

Kate had been able to down the first snarling that charged towards her and Willow.  Had it not been for a split second exclamation from Willow, uttering the chant to erect a temporary force field quickly enough, the two would most likely have been killed by either one of the zombies or the remaining demons.

"Do you have any bullets left…," Willow asked with a pained look on her face as she scrambled from her knees back to her feet and turned to Kate, who still stood holding the gun up in a defensive posture.  The former policewoman's only answer was a trio of hollow clicks as she pulled the trigger.  "Wonderful," Willow thought with sarcastic frown on her face before she began to frantically search the Hyperion's roof for anyway for her and Kate to escape once the temporary force field spell wore off and they were defenseless once more.

"Whatever you're going to do…do it quickly," Kate shouted back over her shoulder while keeping her gaze locked on the only surviving demon as it growled loudly in her direction, a murderous rage in its eyes.

"Uh…w…would this be a bad time to say that I've got nothing…," Willow replied with an overwhelmed and scared look on her face before cringing a bit as Kate threw her a very perturbed glare.

"This could get ugly," Kate slowly said with a very serious and inwardly scared silly look on her face as she turned back around to face the zombies and the remaining demon, just as Buffy and Spike ran to the bottom of the staircase leading up to the roof.

*                    *                         *                      *                       *                           *

"You can't kill me, if you do I'll detonate this building and you'll lose everything that you've so carefully built here," Arthur said with a very serious and hopefully threatening look on his face as he glared at the advancing Penn.

"Heh, you actually think that I care about this damn place, this building is nothing to me, only that golem cares about it, but pretty soon it won't matter anyway, if you're wondering where the golem suddenly disappeared to it went to get rid of your friends' feeble attempt to bring this building down," Penn said with a very smug grin on his face as he slipped into his game face and continued advancing towards a weary Arthur.

"You won't win, there's to much c4 stack all over this place…all I have to do is push this button and…," Arthur started to say with an angry sneer on his face before a lance shot out of the darkness from behind him, knifing through his spine and exploding out through his stomach.

"Stupid human, you should have known…when…to…quit…," Penn started to say with his usual amount of gusto before to his horror he saw Arthur using his last fleeting moments of life to push the small button on the detonator.  Penn started to rush forward before everything was lost in the fire and concussion from the blast.

*                   *                     *                                 *                     *                        *

_One Year Later……………_

She sighed as she slipped the strap of her bra back into place.  Nursing had become an odd experience for Faith, no matter how many times that she did it.  Her daughter was hungry and needed to be fed, it was as simple as that.  But each time that she did it a piece of her mind thought back to all of the men that she had a similar experience with.  The thoughts of her past lovers vacated her mind as she set her young child back into her basinet and turned her attention to the man currently residing in her bed.  She had married Wesley on a whim or at least what she thought was a whim, days after the fateful blast that took Wolfram and Hart out of the picture, if only for a short time.  Her thoughts returned to that day as she began to slowly turn her wedding ring around on her finger and hum a soft and soothing tune, one from her only happy memory of her own childhood.  "Hush little baby…don't say a word…momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird…," Faith's husky voice cooed softly as she stepped away from her daughter and slipped under the covers, soon finding herself wrapped in the arms of the man that she loved more than she ever thought possible.

Wesley had managed to survive the blast by staggering into the street and almost getting run over by a passing motorist.  The bill to get the blood out of the woman's upholstery had been horrendous but Angel had written it off without a second thought, just thankful that arguably his two best friends had lived through the ordeal and were finally getting a bit of the happiness that he felt that they so richly deserved.  Not feeling right or fully at home in Wesley's flat Faith and Wesley had found a small home in a quiet suburb only a short drive away from downtown L.A..  The money had come from a surprising source.  

When asked how he had made it through the explosion Angel's only response was to say that he had heard her voice in a warning and he had heeded her advice.  When asked who the particular she was the two and a half century old vampire would only sullenly mumble out one word before leaving the room, "Darla."

Groo and Oz had only returned to the sewers and were on their way to the rallying point when the explosion happened.  The two were thrown violently off of their feet via the immense shockwave and both had lain up in hospital beds for weeks afterwards trying to recover.  Kate and Willow had been there ever step of the way, helping out whenever they could.  After they had left the hospital Kate had been offered her old job back as from the after affects of the blast and the zombie attack had finally shaken the city leaders to no longer be able to hide and brush off the existence of the supernatural to terrified citizens.  In that vein a new division of the police department had been opened to deal with the supernatural crimes in the city.  Kate had been put in charge of the group after the city and the police force had agreed to her one demand, that she get to fill the group with officers and others of her own choosing.  After some initial misgivings Oz had accepted her offer and joined as the unit's tracker.  On his first case he had finally discovered what Wolfram and Hart had done to him, he had unintentionally transformed into his werewolf self, but unlike the many times before where his calm and easy going exterior had been drowned in a sea or rage and bloodlust Oz had discovered that he had been able to stay in full control of the beast within him.  Xander had said that it made sense if Wolfram and Hart had wanted to use Oz as the guinea pig in an experiment to make their own army of werewolf shock troops.  The troops would be of no use if they could not be controlled.  Groo had joined the unit without a moment's hesitation, saying that as long as he could be with Kate and help protect the weak from the strong that he was in.  Rounding out the list Willow had joined more out of the wanting to have something familiar in her life, as she often traveled back and forth between Sunnydale and L.A., other than constantly helping Buffy stop apocalypse's of her own.  Willow had become the unit's information center, helping Oz and the others in any way that she could.  She had dated a couple of fellow female officers before a near death experience had reestablished the bonds between herself and Oz.  The witch and the werewolf were expecting their first child in only a matter of days.

Jocelyn and Connor had survived the fight in the Hyperion's lobby only because the destruction of the Wolfram and Hart tower had snuffed the zombie's power source in the bud.  The two had moved in together into a small house that Cordelia had found on the web shortly after the Hyperion's repairs had been finally finished.  Even though neither really knew much about home repair Angel and Connor had tried their best to do it themselves, often with hilarious results.  A photo album had begun, filled with all of the father and son's mistakes and accidents.  

Lorne had nearly run a hole straight through his shoes before he was finally able to escape his pursuer.  But his escape had been more by accident that anything else.  The demon that had been tracking him had run afoul of another, much larger and nastier, demon and had become lunch.  Barely two months after Faith had given birth Buffy had followed her with a daughter of her own.  Three months into her young daughter's life Angel and everyone else was still trying to figure out how Spike could be the father.  But all that Joyce, lovingly named after Buffy's mother, had to do was open her eyes and any questions about who was the father went up in smoke.  For her eyes were as radiantly blue as her father's, twinkling like her mothers.  Angel had gone into a deep period of brooding during that time and had only been brought out of it when he and Cordelia had been named as the young girls godparents.  After the blast Angel and Cordelia had grown as close as they could with the ramifications of the curse still in full effect, but Angel had Willow and every other knowledge seeker in the known world searching tirelessly for a way to alter the curse just enough for he and Cordelia to be happy.

Fred had almost been lost in the fighting that night.  Unlike Wesley and Faith it had taken the Texan almost a full month to even begin to recover from the effects of the bites that she had received from the zombies.  Many of Gunn's former crew hadn't been so lucky, over half of them had been lost that night in their valiant defense of the hospital.  Gunn had briefly left Angel Investigations to get his "house" in order and take care of some family business.  He and Fred had returned to the fold only after Faith and Wesley's daughter had come into the world, saying that the littlest Wyndam-Pryce needed to know who her family was.

Anne hadn't said very much after her recover from her attack by the demon that nearly destroyed her teen shelter.  Over time Angel had been able to convince her to go to a demon doctor that had been able to mostly remove the jagged scar on her cheek, reducing it to one that barely measured half an inch.

When the golem's ties to him had been severed Lindsey had recovered in only a few weeks, feeling like his old self in no time.  Elaine however had hovered close to death for some months after the attack, before finally pulling out of it and slowly trying to regain the life that she had once led, or at least close to the same life, with the obvious differences.  Angel had offered both Lindsey and Elaine a place to stay as long as they needed, far against his initial misgivings.  In that line Angel was flabbergasted when a tired and yawning Lindsey had slipped into his office late one night and let him know of his future plans.  

"So…I hear that you're getting sued," Lindsey stated with an almost joking smirk on his face as he closed the door behind him and then took the chair offered him.

"Yeah…the reporter and that cameraman…," Angel mumbled back softly with a look of not wanting to believe on his face before he couldn't hold back a smile any longer.

"Well then…it looks like you're going to need a lawyer," Lindsey added with a stifled chuckle of his own at the shocked look on Angel's face.

END OF CHAPTER 26 AND THREE STRIKES

**THE END---THE SMEG IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :LOL:**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:  THIS REALLY ISN'T THE END AS THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL THAT I'M GOING TO TENTATIVELY CALL "YOU'RE OUT", THAT I'LL START WRITING AFTER I FINISH REPRECUSSIONS, THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING, AND FUTURE IMPERFECT.**


End file.
